The Nilgiris Collector Innocent Divya has exempted tea industry from the lockdown.

In her order, she has stated that this follows the representation of the Department of Industrial Safety and Health in The Nilgiris that the tea industry had sought exemption for continuous processing of tea and other associated activities as tea comes under essential commodity.

The Collector said that permission has been granted to tea factories for processing, production of tea and other associated activities during the lockdown period with minimum number of workers by strictly following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of Covid-19.

She has asked the tea industry to issue separate passes for the concerned staff members deployed during the lockdown period. She has instructed Tasildhars in the district to ensure enforcement of the SOP.

Welcoming the exemption, L Vairavan, Chairman of Coonoor Tea Trade Association told BusinessLine , “This will help to cater to the increased demand for the teas in our auctions.”

“With North Indian plantations suffering from a drought-like weather, tea production there has dwindled. On the other hand, upcountry buyers are in a purchasing spree to build up stocks to take care of short supplies. So, they need tea,” he explained.

“Thanks to the exemption, we can assure uninterrupted supply of adequate quantity of top quality winter teas to upcountry buyers and exporters at our auctions,” he noted.