With the opposition to the state government's
pet Tea Tourism project gaining strength in the political
circles, the state small industry and tourism minister Mr
Manabendranath Mukherjee today categorically declared that
the government would not back out from the proposal in the
face of opposition.
Defending the concept of Tea Tourism, he
said that if executed in the right manner it would generate
employment on a fair scale and increase the resources of the
tea plantations.
Recently, Mr Subrata Mukherjee, a senior Cong-ress leader
and president of West Bengal INTUC, came down heavily on the
state chief minister's pet project. He described it a blue
print for converting the tottering tea plantations in north
Bengal into centres of liquor and flesh trade. A principal
Left Front constituent Forward Bloc also flayed the proposal
apprehending that widespread poverty among the plantation
labourers would be used by the affluent class to turn the
plantations into exclusive clubs of carnal amusement. Brushing
aside all such apprehensions, the state tourism minister said
that all over the country various tou-rism projects were bei-ng
implemented on public-private cooperation and nothing of that
sort was happening anywhere. “Now the situation has
come at such a stage in the tea plantations of north Bengal
that we must think in terms of diversification. There seems
to be no other alternative to diversification to make the
plantations financially via-ble. Tea tourism will help the
plantations to absorb the market shocks, as tea market is
always volatile. This will ultimately help the workers, as
growth of financial resources of the plantations will ensure
job security for them and further enhance their standard of
living,” Mr Manabendranath Mukherjee said.
Meanwhile, Mr Raj Basu,executive president,
Eastern Himalayan Travel and Tour Operators’ Association,
in a stout defence of tea tourism today said that tea tourism
would help in emotionally connecting the world with the tea
plantations of north Bengal.
“People from all over the world are expected to descend
here and see how thousands of labourers are growing tea by
the sweat of their brow. This will popularise the tea branding
of north Bengal in the international arena apart from nourishing
the age-old tea heritage of the region,” Mr Basu said.
Courtesy: The Statesman |
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