Indian tea industry records highest ever production
Kolkata, May 8: Achieving a historic feat, the Indian tea industry recorded the highest ever production of 1,325.05 million kg as well as export of 256.57 million kg during the financial year 2017-18, official figures released on Tuesday revealed.
The total tea production in 2017-18 went up by 74.56 million kg or 5.96 per cent, as compared to the corresponding figure in 2016-17, according to Tea Board India.
In 2016-17, India produced 1,250.49 million kg of tea.
Similarly, the total quantity of tea exports during the 2017-18 fiscal increased by 28.94 million kg or 12.71 per cent as compared to the last corresponding period. The tea exports stood at 227.63 million kg in 2016-17.
The foreign exchange realised from tea exports was $785.92 million in 2017-18, a rise of $95.19 million or 13.78 per cent over 2016-17 when it had earned $690.73 million.
In rupee terms, the total value of the exports was pegged at Rs 5,064.88 crore during 2017-18.
The value realisation increased by Rs 432.38 crore or 9.33 per cent over 2016-17 (Rs 4,632.50 crore).
The growth in exports was majorly driven by five countries - Egypt (7.49 million kg), Iran 6.95 million kg), Pakistan (4.96 million kg), China (2.91 million kg) and Russia (2.89 million kg).
The earlier record for the highest quantity of tea exports was during the financial year 1976-77 when the total quantity exported was 242.42 million kg.
According to Tea Board India, the trend towards a new record in exports was evident in 2017 (January-December) itself as the total quantity of exports stood at 251.91 million kg, an increase of 29.46 million kgs or 13.24 per cent over 2016, with value realisation at $766.06 million, rising by $100.90 million, a rise of 15.17 per cent.
During the calendar year 2016, the total exports were 222.45 million kg, with value realisation at $665.16 million.
The previous highest export quantity for a calendar year was in 1981 when the total tea exports had reached 241.25 million kg.
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BJP writes to EC about 'non-deployment' of central forces to avert clash
Kolkata (PTI): The BJP on Sunday wrote to the Election Commission alleging that its workers were not given security and came under attack while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Brigade Parade Ground on March 14 and sought action over the alleged non-deployment of central forces by police.
In a letter to the poll panel, BJP leader Shishir Bajoria claimed that buses carrying party workers to the rally were targeted with bricks in the Girish Park area of north Kolkata, leaving several activists injured, some of whom were hospitalised.
Trouble broke out in the area when BJP activists objected to the putting up of flexes which read 'Boycott BJP', before the house of state minister Shashi Panja and tore down the flexes. Heavy brick batting followed as both sides regrouped along Central Avenue, and the window panes on the ground-floor room of Panja's residence were damaged in stone pelting.
The minister claimed she and several of her party members were injured in the brickbatting by rally-bound BJP supporters.
In the letter, the BJP alleged that despite a substantial deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) ahead of the elections, the forces were not present at the site of the disturbance to ensure the safety of its workers and leaders.
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Putting the onus on TMC for the violence, the letter said, "A large number of buses bringing BJP 'karyakartas' to attend the rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Brigade Parade Ground were subjected to large-scale brick-batting and violence, resulting in several BJP leaders sustaining injuries, many of whom had to be hospitalised."
Attaching purported photos and videos of the clash to back up their claims of TMC instigation, the letter said: "What was particularly of grave concern was that despite a big deployment of CAPF well before the polls, their complete absence at the spot during the disturbance, or in any part of the city of Kolkata."
"We would like to put on record that the presence of Kolkata Police at the spot of disturbance establishes the fact that they had an advance intelligence report of possible violence and yet kept the CAPF out," the BJP leader said in the letter to the CEC Gyanesh Kumar, and Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal.
"Given the seriousness of the incident and the injuries sustained by several of our karyakarta, it raises concerns among citizens regarding the effective deployment of CAPF for preventing violence, and ensuring a free and fair electoral environment," the letter said.
"We request your good office to kindly take the strongest possible action against those who were responsible for this non-deployment of CAPF, resulting in this incident and ensure that in future deployment is carried out in a manner that truly serves its intended purpose of area domination, confidence building, and timely intervention wherever law and order situations arises from now till the elections are over," the letter said.
The BJP also reminded the commission that a party delegation had earlier met the full bench of the poll body on March 9 and raised concerns that CAPF personnel were being deployed for route marches in peaceful areas and highways instead of in locations requiring voter confidence-building measures.
At least eight persons, including a police officer, were injured in brickbatting, which broke out half an hour before the arrival of the Prime Minister at the Brigade Rally. The clash continued for about an hour as both sides fought a pitched battle on the road and nearby by-lanes before reinforcements brought the situation under control.
