Overview
- Darjeeling Tea Association has asked the Tea Board to intervene with the Centre after factories reported curtailed industrial LPG supply at the start of first-flush processing.
- A March 5 communication reported by industry cites a directive for public-sector oil marketers to channel LPG to households, alongside wider curbs on commercial cylinders.
- Local reports say delivery of commercial LPG cylinders to tea gardens has been halted since March 5, creating an immediate production risk.
- More than 50 of 78 operating gardens in the hills shifted from coal to industrial LPG over the past decade after anthraquinone contamination concerns in exports.
- First-flush output, largely exported and estimated to generate about 35–40% of annual revenue from roughly 20% of volume, requires steady fuel supplies of about 6–7 tonnes of LPG per day.