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Photos: Darjeeling tea industry crisis; low production, political unrest

The Darjeeling tea industry is in crisis. The Gorkhaland agitation is the most recent blow to an industry hit by declining production and increasing competition

Updated on: Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM IST

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A tea estate worker is seen at the Shree Dwarika Tea Estate in Darjeeling. The tea plantations were hauled into the recent 105-day blockade in Darjeeling, which is estimated to have cost the industry Rs 500 crore in lost revenue. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

A tea estate worker is seen at the Shree Dwarika Tea Estate in Darjeeling. The tea plantations were hauled into the recent 105-day blockade in Darjeeling, which is estimated to have cost the industry Rs 500 crore in lost revenue. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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In Darjeeling, there is no production at all for four-and-a-half months – during the winter the bushes fall asleep, unlike in other tea-growing regions.The shutdown, which lasted 105 days impacted business heavily on top of that. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

In Darjeeling, there is no production at all for four-and-a-half months – during the winter the bushes fall asleep, unlike in other tea-growing regions.The shutdown, which lasted 105 days impacted business heavily on top of that. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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The bushes, too, have suffered a lot of damage, fighting with overgrown weeds for nutrients. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

The bushes, too, have suffered a lot of damage, fighting with overgrown weeds for nutrients. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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A tea worker busy in clearing weeds from the bushes at the famous Makaibari Tea Estate in Darjeeling. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

A tea worker busy in clearing weeds from the bushes at the famous Makaibari Tea Estate in Darjeeling. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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Despite Darjeeling’s troubled political situation, tea workers were never really hauled into strikes before. But it changed this year: tea garden workers spontaneously backed the strike, at least in the beginning. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

Despite Darjeeling’s troubled political situation, tea workers were never really hauled into strikes before. But it changed this year: tea garden workers spontaneously backed the strike, at least in the beginning. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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At present, tea bushes can be seen, run over by weeds at the Shree Dwarika Tea Estate in Darjeeling. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

At present, tea bushes can be seen, run over by weeds at the Shree Dwarika Tea Estate in Darjeeling. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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The British secured Darjeeling on lease from the princely state of Sikkim in 1835 for its cool climate. Tea cultivation started under a renegade British army officer, Captain Samler, in the 1840s. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

The British secured Darjeeling on lease from the princely state of Sikkim in 1835 for its cool climate. Tea cultivation started under a renegade British army officer, Captain Samler, in the 1840s. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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Rajah Banerjee has been the most celebrated tea planter of his time. His 670-hectare estate, ‘Makaibari,’ straddling six separate ridges, was the first in Darjeeling to go organic back in 1988. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

Rajah Banerjee has been the most celebrated tea planter of his time. His 670-hectare estate, ‘Makaibari,’ straddling six separate ridges, was the first in Darjeeling to go organic back in 1988. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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The change of guard at Makaibari is more than symbolic, coming at a time when estate owners and the entire community of plantation workers have plunged into an unprecedented crisis. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

The change of guard at Makaibari is more than symbolic, coming at a time when estate owners and the entire community of plantation workers have plunged into an unprecedented crisis. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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Tea workers are racing against time to uproot the weeds and clean up the bushes, but the harvest next year is likely to be delayed by weeks, which means more losses. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

Tea workers are racing against time to uproot the weeds and clean up the bushes, but the harvest next year is likely to be delayed by weeks, which means more losses. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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The challenge now is to expand the market for Darjeeling tea within India. Despite its hallowed image, within India, Darjeeling tea doesn’t have much following outside West Bengal. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

Updated on Nov 13, 2017 4:42 PM

The challenge now is to expand the market for Darjeeling tea within India. Despite its hallowed image, within India, Darjeeling tea doesn’t have much following outside West Bengal. (Indranil Bhoumik / MINT)

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