Virus, bandh leave a sour taste for orange growers in Darjeeling

It’s not just tea. The famous Darjeeling orange too has been affected by the 104-day shutdown in the north Bengal hills as the bandh has prevented the administration from delivering benefits of a scheme to the orchards affected by a virus, the Bengal government has claimed.

“The orange industry of Darjeeling was affected by a virus attack even before the commencement of the bandh. A ₹19 crore package was sanctioned, but the money could not be spent as we could not deliver pesticides and medicines needed to tackle the problem due to the shutdown,” Abdur Rezzak Mollah, West Bengal horticulture and fruit processing minister said.

He added that now that the bandh was over, he would fasttrack the package to address the troubles of the growers. “I might visit the area once,” he said.

Orchard owners, however, alleged that the orange industry, which is largely unorganised, was pushed to the brink by the virus attack, lack of scientific management and administrative apathy, and did not link it directly to the bandh that paralysed the Hills from June 15 to September 26 over the demand for a separate Gorkhaland. Darjeeling oranges are famous for their thin peel and sweetness, but the cultivators of Mirik, Kurseong and Darjeeling hills are facing tough times. “I had to destroy half of the 500 trees in my gardens as they were either dying or were not bearing fruits,” Madhukar Malla, an orange cultivator from Selphu, said.

Kamal Gurung, another cultivator from Sitong, said: “We have no idea why the orchards are dying and why they have suddenly stopped bearing fruits.” Both Malla and Gurung rued that the size of the oranges had decreased and they had started losing their sweetness. Both also alleged that no help was forthcoming from the state.

Taking into consideration the grievances of cultivators, Arijit Mitra, the executive director of horticulture department of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, said he would convene a meeting with orange growers and exporters. The Krishak Kalyan Sangathan in Kalimpong said the north Bengal hills produced about 15,000 tons of oranges in 2016 but the figures would dip this year. “We are facing a strange situation where new areas are being brought under orange cultivation but the existing orchards are bearing fewer fruits,” said Mahadev Chhetri, senior scientific officer (research and development) of the horticulture department.

In 2001, oranges were cultivated on 930 hectares of land and the production was 1,562.4 tonnes. A few years ago, the Cinchona plantation directorate started cultivating oranges on about 325 hectares in Darjeeling.

According to Chhetri, the main culprit destroying the yield is the Citrus Tristeza virus. “The life span of an orange tree is about 25 years. But if it is attacked by the virus, a new tree planted at the spot is also affected,” he said.

Orchard owners also claimed lack of disease-free seedlings was another area of concern. Though the horticulture department produces 8,000 to 10,000 disease-free seedlings, the annual requirement is at least one lakh.

Bishnu Chettri, secretary of Krishak Kalyan Sangathan, Kalimpong, pointed out that the lack of minimum support price (MSP) for orange put many farmers in distress. “Though the mandarin orange is one of the few cash crops of the hills, there is no MSP for the fruit,” he said.

ORCHARD OWNERS SAY LACK OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE APATHY ADDING TO THEIR TROUBLES