It's little after 8.oo in the morning as we (BT photographer Debashish Paul and i) drive down the bumpy roads (that often degenerate into dirt tracks) bisecting picturesque tea gardens. We get the whiff of tea leaves (the most crucial second flush

Siliguri: A five-member team from the Calcutta-based Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) is in north Bengal now to assess the cost involved in the cultivation of tealeaves and the production of made tea. "Assessing the costs incurred by the stakeholders of tea industry is essential while deciding on policies and schemes,' said Amal Roy Choudhury, the deputy director (plantations) of the Tea Board of India. "The team is here to determine separately the costs of production in the Terai, Dooars, and Darjeeling.'

A Tata Tea-owned garden faces legal action by Kaziranga National Park authorities after the Forensic Science Laboratory here confirmed the presence of pesticide in the carcass of a cattle "used as a bait' to kill a tiger at Hatikhuli tea estate in January. The director of the forensic laboratory, R.P. Gohain, today confirmed that pesticide residues were found on the cattle carcass that resulted in the death of a tiger cub in the Rongagora division of the tea estate, owned by the Tata Tea's North India Plantation Operations.

Healthy Brew: Differently-abled children benefit hugely from the training provided at Tata Tea's vocational centres (Pic By C.P. Shanmugham)

Green tea plays a protective role in human body against the fatal diseases, as it is found as rich in anti-oxidants, mainly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). This was said by Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhry, acting director international centre for chemical and biological sciences (ICCBS), Karachi University (KU) here on Thursday. While delivering a lecture at the ICCBS, he said the extensive consumption of the tea helps reducing fat cells (obesity) in human body, which is most common health problem of the country especially in the urban areas.

Frequent and unscheduled power cuts for long hours as well as low voltage created havoc for majority of the tea estates of Assam and industry sources said that if the situation does not improve soon, most of the gardens would face serious problems soon. Tea Industry sources told The Assam Tribune today that in recent times, majority of the gardens faced serious problems due to frequent power cuts and in some places of the State, the gardens located in the remote areas faced power cuts for as many as 20 hours in a day.

Not in the mood for the standard hot cuppa? How about a cooling, fruity tea drink or a tea toffee? With a diverse range of edible products based on tea extracts set to hit Indian markets, you might

GUWAHATI

Though the Government of India has announced a series of sops to the Tea industry in the Budget for the current financial year, industry sources said that it would be beneficial only if the funds are released on time. The Union Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, in the Budget, announced that an amount of Rs 40 crore would be provided for the special purpose tea fund for re-plantation and rejuvenation of the tea bushes. However, tea industry sources pointed out that the Government's decision would be beneficial for the industry only if the funds are released on time.