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Kohinoor Mandal

Kolkata , Oct. 8

THE United Liberation Front of Asom's extortion demand - of Rs 2 crore - on Hindustan Lever Ltd's Doom Dooma division in Assam has brought the subject of extortion by terrorist outfits in the northeast to the fore. But this is nothing new because it has been over a decade that tea companies operating in that part of the country have been facing such demands from terrorist outfits.

In fact, it is well-known that whoever runs a tea garden in the region takes this crucial factor into account in the running of the unit although incidents of extortion have usually not been given too much publicity mainly because of security reasons.

Senior tea industry officials here say that the phenomenon surfaced in the late eighties and reached its peak in the early nineties after which time there was a lull. In the meantime, tea companies raised their own security forces to protect themselves although this was never enough of a damper on the operations of the extortionists, it is said.

The officials emphasise that the latest reported case of extortion is not an indication that terrorist outfits in the region are once gaining raising their head. The threat has always been there with the tea companies preferring to fend for themselves instead of raising a hue and cry for reasons connected with their own safety, according to these sources.

When asked as to who exactly were the extortionists, the sources said: "What is the point in taking names? One can name one organisation or more, but that will not solve the problem."

Though the industry feels that this is basically a law and order problem and the State authorities are duty bound to tackle it, a different view is held by people in the know. According to them, the genesis of the problem lies in social issues affecting the tea gardens and the industry generally in the region.

One industry expert said: "By social issues, I do not only mean poverty, unemployment or lack of education. Those are macro problems involved also. Even within the industry there are several issues which need to be addressed," he added.

Two major factors were cited. The first is the growing unrest among plantation workers who were currently engaged in agitations for higher wages and increased bonus. On the other hand, tea companies, which are possibly going through their worst ever financial phase in recent times, were unwilling to oblige.

The second problem related to the small growers. These growers were common people with smallholdings and they were selling the leaves grown by them to the bought-leaf-factories and even to established tea gardens. With the regular decline in tea prices, both in the auction houses and private sales, the established companies are unable to pay a remunerative price to the small growers, which has led to growing discontent among the latter.

In fact, the matter has assumed such proportions that even the Assam Chief Minister, Mr Tarun Gogoi, has been forced to write a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to intervene and defuse the crisis. Sources said that some sections within the Assam Government feel that established and leading tea companies were depriving small growers of their rightful returns, "but there is no data available with the government to prove it".

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