Statesman News Service
KALIMPONG, May 27. — With an ultimatum of 15 days, the United Forum, a Cinchona-based trade union, has submitted a memorandum to the Darjeeling district magistrate, who is also the acting director of the Cinchona and other medicinal plants directorate, against the state government’s stand of privatisation of this medical industry.
Addressing a press conference here today, secretary of the forum, Mr Pravin Gurung, said that the representatives of the forum from all the four plantations have given 15 days time to the DM to interact with the government on behalf them.
“If there was proper implementation of the diversification plans, then the plantation would never have had faced the present fate,” Mr Gurung said. The chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also came in for criticism for his stand of privatisation during his recent visit to Siliguri.
Claiming that the role of the state has acted as a slow poison for the industry, Mr Gurung held that the privatisation would render thousands of Nepalese jobless.
In detailed claims, seniors of the forum said that a demand for 5 metric tonne of, ‘Quinine sulphate’, was placed from certain firms of Kolkata and Hyderabad. “It’s rated at Rs 2,882 per kilogram”, Mr Gurung said. “Besides, the sales depot for the plantations is located at Kolkata. It directly points to the attitude of the state.”
Terming it as neglect by the state, ex-MLA, Mrs Renu Lila Subba, the executive member of the forum, said: “It’s a sabotage by the state.”
Seniors also said that despite the fact that an Emetine (a derivative of a medicinal plant Ipecac) factory has been set-up at Mungpoo, its cultivation has been halted since 1990. “Another plant, Taxus bacota, which is a highly valuable medicinal herb and is used for patients suffering from breast cancer, is spread over an area of 10 acres at Mungpoo. But unfortunately, the herb rated at approximately $12,000 per gram has not been harvested. This only hints of a conspiracy by the state against the almost 50,000 Nepalese directly depending on the plantation for their livelihood,” Mr Gurung said.
Besides requesting the Darjeeling MP, Mr Dawa Narbula and all the three Hills MLA’s to raise the issue in the Parliament and the state legislature respectively for the revival of this industry, Mr Subba said: “We also request the participants of all trade unions in the Hills and all the intellectuals in a seminar to-be-organised shortly at the DM’s office regarding the plantations.”