Tea is the second most popular drink in the world, after water. â â India and West Bengal, are larger producers and exporters of tea in the world but a slump in the tea industry has created an alarming human rights situation in West Bengal, a region economically dependent upon the cultivation of Tea as a cash crop and the closure and abandonment of tea estates mainly in the states of West Bengalâ â The market is dominated by a handful of multinational companies. Working conditions are often generally poor. â â Being a seasonal laborer means no income when they are ill, pregnant or unfit to work. â â Tea picking is hard work and workers often have to protect themselves from work-related injuries at their own expense.â â Malnutrition on tea estates is still a big problem that leads to all kinds of medical problems including in some cases infant death and starvation. Many plantation communities in these countries have inadequate access to basic facilities such as drinking water, sanitation, and electricity.â â Discrimination along both gender and ethnic lines is widespread. Women are subject to sexual harassment.â â Women workers are asked for sexual favors in exchange for favors by superiors, and refusal can lead to repercussions, such as being allocated too much work or being sent to work in lonely or dangerous plucking zones.â â The environmental impacts of the industry are considerable. There is significant biodiversity loss when high biodiversity areas such as forests are converted to tea plantations. Along with habitat conversion, logging for firewood to process tea, in particular, has caused extensive deforestation.â â Workers in tea gardens are often isolated from mainstream society. The low rate of literacy and deprived health status among workers always stood as major constraints in giving them access to major health, educational and development initiatives or programs of the state government and other organizations. NGOs such as @pyarionlus develop projects to improve the living conditions of local populations with programs for women and children. (presso Siligun, West Bengal, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7eJ55MFtXj/?igshid=27qqva6q9415
