BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 27th December 2025: The Tripura Tea Mazdoor Sangh, with backing from the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangha, has expressed strong opposition to the growing trend of cultivating palm oil, lemon, and betel nut within tea gardens across Tripura. The union warned that such practices could severely damage the tea industry and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of workers.
Addressing a press conference at the Agartala Press Club today, union representatives said that the move by estate owners to introduce alternative crops inside tea plantations is endangering both tea production and workers’ job security.
Shyamlendu Bikash Pal, All India Secretary of the Plantation Mazdoor Mahasangh, speaking on behalf of tea workers, stated that crop diversification within tea estates goes against the natural requirements of tea plants. According to him, this shift is destabilizing the economic framework of the gardens and could ultimately lead to their decline, along with the displacement of workers.
He noted that palm oil cultivation has already begun in several estates, including Binodini, Fatikchara, Mahavir, Raydurlavpur, and Kalachhara. Meanwhile, lemon and betel nut farming has reportedly been introduced in the Meghli Para estate. Union leaders explained that tea plants depend on a delicate balance of sunlight, moisture, and soil nutrients—conditions that are disrupted by tall crops such as palm oil and betel nut. These trees create excessive shade and compete for nutrients, leading to reduced tea yields.
The union also warned that inter-cropping affects the quality of tea leaves, weakening Tripura’s standing in the competitive tea market. Declining quality and productivity, they said, result in financial losses that eventually impact workers and the regional economy.
Senior union leaders including Tadan Kumar Dey, Uttam Sarkar, Chandan Sutradhar, Haripada Nayak, and Ashish Kanti Ghosh were present at the press meet. They announced that if their concerns are ignored, the matter will be taken to the High Court. They further cautioned that continued inaction could spark a broader workers’ movement in the near future.
