Rain reawakens Sylhet’s tea

The tea industry in Sylhet has been revitalised by recent rains that came after a dry winter season. Around 30 millimetres of rain was recorded in Sylhet on March 8-10, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

"This rain was quite beneficial for the region's tea gardens as there had been very little precipitation for the past four months," said Sayed Ahmed Chowdhury, a meteorologist of the department.

Around 30 per cent of the country's annual rainfall comes in winter between November-February, but this time there was barely any rain over these four months.

Besides, rain has become a rare event for Sylhet in recent times, Chowdhury told The Daily Star.

"Since tea production depends only on rainfall, this brief stint of rain is truly a blessing for us," said Sudham Ghatual, a tea worker of Mirtinga Tea Garden in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar.Tea workers in the area still hold onto old ideals when it comes to cultivation.

For example, they perform a puja to celebrate the rain.

"The goddess of fortune goes door-to-door to bless the people of the village with rice and pulses," Ghatual said, adding that if the rain continues to follow a natural pattern, this year's harvest could surpass last year's total production.

"We are very optimistic about the rains," said Saiduzzaman, senior manager of Mirzapur Tea Estate under the Ispahani Tea Company in Srimangal.

The tea trees have regained their youth with green buds starting to come out, he added.

"Rains might be a disruption to the public life, but it is a blessing for the tea gardens," said Shah Alam, chairman of Bangladesh Tea Association, a body of tea garden owners.

Many tea gardens are now being irrigated and this rain will help facilitate the process, Alam said.

On the other hand, pruning of tea trees is going on in other gardens.

These pruned branches will grow in advance thanks to the rain, which allows earlier harvests as well.

Besides, pest problems will be less amid the rain, which plays a very positive role in the growth of seedlings, he added. Mohammad Ali, director of the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute, said this rain will boost tea production to a great extent.

This is because after a long period of drought, the gardens wake up to new shoots after receiving such rains.

"The buds will soon grow into trees and we will have the facility to do early plucking," Ali said.

As soon as spring arrives, the tea trees begin to sprout as early buds begin to shed.

"Our factory has started operations on a limited scale," Ali said, adding that his factory currently runs just 1-2 days a week to process tea leaves based on its supply.

Natural rainfall brings better yield than artificial irrigation, he said.

The current tea production target has been set at 77.78 million kilogrammes but if the weather is favourable, it could exceed 97 million kilogrammes, he added.