KATHMANDU, June 17: Nepali Congress Whip Nishcal Rai has said that Prime Minister Balendra Shah has failed to pay attention to the problems of tea farmers while having time to visit tea shops.
Speaking during Wednesday’s House of Representatives (HoR) session, Rai said tea industries and farmers in Ilam have been forced to shut down operations for the past three days after India created problems in tea exports.
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“Attention of the government has not reached such a sensitive issue at all. The Prime Minister, along with two ministers, is busy ‘building the country’—as we see on social media,” Rai said. “He has time to go to tea shops and drink tea, but he does not seem to have time to resolve the problems of the tea industries and farmers, which export tea worth over Rs 300 million annually and are a backbone of the economy.”
He said more than 53 tea industries in Suryodaya Municipality and over 83 across the district have been shut down due to the situation.
He expressed concern that green tea produced by farmers is going to waste, while workers involved in plucking and processing tea have lost their jobs. He also said entrepreneurs are unable to even pay interest on bank loans.
