Small tea growers to stage hunger strike on Mar 1

Udhagamandalam: With the Lok Sabha election around the corner, the Nilgiris small tea growers on Friday announced that they would stage hunger strike in Ooty on March 1 demanding minimum floor price for green leaf tea, waiver of agriculture loans and waiver of education loans of the wards of the farmers.
Speaking to reporters here on Friday, founder-president of the Nilgiris Small and Tiny Tea Growers Association J B Subramaniam said, “Our demand for minimum floor price for green leaf tea is a long-pending one. The present central and state governments have failed to fulfil our demands. Even the previous central government did not heed to our demands.” He said, “We have chosen this opportunity to draw the attention of the political parties so that our demands would find place in their manifesto.”

Stating that migration of small tea farmers to the plains is a serious issue, Subramaniam said, “People of the Nilgiris are always neglected by the government. The prevailing rate of Rs 13 -14 per kg would not help even to meet the wages.”

President of the Nilgiri Farmers Association A Bellie said they wanted a minimum floor price of Rs 30 per kg for green leaf tea besides waiver of loans.