Tea production down 7.21%, exports up marginally in April
Kolkata, June 12: India's estimated tea production fell by 7.21 per cent to 85.74 million kg in April 2018 from 92.41 million kg produced in the year-ago month, according to data from the Tea Board of India.
According to provisional data from the Board, in April, tea exports were up marginally to 14.5 million kg as against 14.33 million kg exported in the year-ago month and in value terms, the month was stagnant at Rs 277.6 crore as compared to Rs 277.71 crore in April 2017.
Estimated production data suggested the fall in absolute term during April was due to drop in the crop production both in north (which also covers the east and northeast India) and south India.
In north India, Assam's production for the month was marginally up to 45.65 million kg as compared to 44.24 million kg produced in the corresponding month of 2017 while West Bengal's production for the month stood at 15.73 million kg, down by nearly 20 per cent from 19.6 million kg produced in the same month of 2017.
Taking Assam, West Bengal and others together, the estimated crop during the month under review in north India decreased by nearly four per cent to 63.28 million kg as against 65.86 million kg produced in April 2017.
In south India, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the tea production was at 22.46 million kg in April 2018 as against 26.55 million kg produced in same month last year.
Small growers produced 38.04 million kg in April as against 43 million kg produced by them in the year-ago month.
Moreover, India's tea exports grew by about 6.5 per cent to 79.72 million kg during the January-April period of 2018 as compared to 74.89 million kg exported in the corresponding period last year.
In value terms, tea exports for the first four months of the current calendar year, stood at Rs 1,524.92 crore, up by about 5.3 per cent from Rs 1,447.74 crore in the year-ago period.
In volume, tea exports to CIS countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and others, were at 20.46 million kg in the January-April period of 2018, down from 22.28 million kg in the same period of last year.
Exports to Britain also fell to 3.03 million kg in the period under review, as against 3.73 million kg in the year-ago period while exports at 2.95 million kg to Germany during the period were also down from 3.3 million kg exported in the corresponding months of 2017.
However, tea exports to Iran went up to 8.94 million kg in the period under review, from 7.18 million kg in the year-ago period.
As much as 4.89 million kg of tea was shipped out to Egypt during the first four months of current year, up from 2.94 million kg in the year-ago period.
Tea exports to Pakistan stood at 5.03 million kg in the period, as against 3.31 million kg exported in the corresponding months of 2017.
India's tea exports to China during the period were up at 3.04 million kg.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Engineered narratives': West Bengal guv on alleged molestation charges against him
Kolkata, May 2: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday said he will not be cowed down by “engineered narratives” and the "truth shall triumph” after TMC leaders claimed that a woman working at Raj Bhavan levelled allegations of molestation against him.
In a statement, the Governor said, “Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal,”
To the Raj Bhavan staff "who expressed solidarity with him following some derogatory narratives that were circulated by two disgruntled employees as agents of political parties," a communication by Raj Bhawan said.
The Governor’s statement came after senior TMC leaders claimed this evening in a series of social media posts that the woman, who had levelled the allegations, has been taken to a police station to complain against Bose.
Though police sources said they received a verbal complaint, there was no official word on whether a formal complaint had been registered.
“BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose was accused of molesting a woman. How utterly appalling and Horrifying. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan today. The complainant has been taken to the Hare Street police station for filing a complaint. The woman has accused the Governor of molesting her. Shocking and disgraceful,” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said in a post on X.
Fellow TMC MP Saket Gokhale also posted on his X account regarding the issue.
West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said it is “shameful” that the Governor has maligned his post and has used it to “torture a woman”.
“It is appalling and shocking to see such an incident. This is the same Governor who had reached out to Sandeshkhali to talk about women’s rights and Nari Shakti. This is shameful that the Governor sought undue advantages in the pretext of giving her a permanent job. We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be addressing rallies in Bengal tomorrow to react on this issue,” she said.
According to sources in the Governor's House, the "woman employee with the help of her alleged boyfriend who is also an employee of the Raj Bhavan was blocking complaints (from people) being sent to the Election Commission of India.
"When she was reprimanded for that, she went outside and alleged molestation. She is in the habit of throwing tantrums against her colleagues because of some disease," a Raj Bhavan official said.
The West Bengal Governor and the TMC government have shared an acrimonious relationship since he assumed office in November 2022 and had several run-ins on various issues.
The BJP said it has to be seen whether this a “conspiracy by the TMC” or has an “iota of truth in it”.
“We all know that the TMC is politically cornered on the issue of SSC scam and is looking for a breathing space. So this needs to be seen whether this is a conspiracy by the TMC or it has any iota of truth in it,” BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.
BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose accused of molesting a woman. How utterly APPALLING and HORRIFYING. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj…
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) May 2, 2024
Shameful that a constitutional office holder should try to prejudice an impartial investigation by attacking the motive of the complainant. We have seen this happen in that infamous Saturday Hearing of the Supreme Court. Respect women! https://t.co/E6eJLQvFXO
— sanjoy ghose (@advsanjoy) May 2, 2024
