Timir Banik, Moulvibazar Correspondent: The first tea leaf extraction of the season has started in various tea gardens across Moulvibazar district. After about four months, the tea workers are busy making new tea in 91 tea gardens of the district. The garden owners are seeing the possibility of increasing the tea production this time due to the early rains at the beginning of the season.

According to industry insiders, tea leaf extraction is closed during the dry season from December to March every year. At this time various care is done including cutting and irrigation of tea trees. Early rains at this time are a blessing for tea. Production starts before the buds come on the tree. Early and moderate rainfall has a positive effect on production.

A recent visit to several tea gardens, including the Srigobindapur tea garden in Kamalganj, shows that each tea hill has turned green due to early rainfall and garden management and care. Dance-song is going on along with religious ceremonies. Along with the workers, the garden manager and others are also joining the festival. They said that every year when picking new leaves, a festive mood is created in the tea garden. The garden serves the traditional tea workers’ jhumur and kathi dance. New leaves are picked up through worship and prayers.

Namita Kairi, a worker of Dhalai Tea Garden in Kamalganj, said, “We are very happy on the day of picking new leaves. After a long time I met my colleagues. Bina Baury, a tea worker, said that if more tea comes to the tree, the workers also benefit. Quickly picking up the prescribed amount of leaves at the end of the extra leaves and the level of income increases a little.

According to tea stakeholders, Bangladesh also set a new record in tea production during the Corona virus last year. Production was continued in the orchards at risk to avoid possible damage to the tea industry. Those benefits match production. Moreover, tea production is on the rise due to various measures taken by the owners to expand the garden, make new investments and develop the garden. The use of modern technology has also increased.

Talking to garden owners, it is learned that they are now picking up old saplings and planting new ones. Even abandoned lands have been brought under tea cultivation. Garden owners have to invest more to increase production. Prashant Kumar Sarkar, deputy general manager of Srigobindapur Tea Garden in Kamalganj, said most of the owners are re-investing in the development of the garden.
He added that there has been a positive impact on production over the years. Being supervised by the Tea Board. The cost of producing high quality tea is high. But due to the high quality of low quality tea in the market, the appropriate price of high quality tea is not matching.

GM Shibli, chairman of the Bangladesh Tea Parliament Sylhet Region, said the moderate rainfall at the beginning of the season has helped improve the quality of tea and its fresh leaves. He is hopeful that it will be possible to set another new record this year if the weather is favorable.

Bangladesh Tea Research Institute Director. Mohammad Ali said that the researchers of Bangladesh Tea Research Center have invented 16 clones of high yield and quality for the development of tea industry. The productivity of these invented clones is much higher. Tea production will increase if old tea trees are planted in all the gardens and high yielding clone seedlings are planted and the use of modern technology is increased.