New Tea Auction Centre in Dibrugarh: A Call for Local Employment Opportunities
Local Community Welcomes New Auction Centre
File image of Tea Board of India granting licence to Assam Chai Bazaar LLP (Photo: Meta)
Dibrugarh, Oct 3: The Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) has expressed its support for the launch of the Assam Chai Bazaar, the second tea auction centre in the state, located in Dibrugarh. However, they have also emphasized the need for job opportunities arising from this new platform to be significantly reserved for educated and qualified youth from tea-growing communities.
The Association believes that this new auction centre could revolutionize Upper Assam’s tea sector by offering a contemporary platform for tea trading and enhancing the region's commercial prospects. They urged the government, auction centre officials, and associated business entities to ensure that local youth from tea communities are not overlooked in the employment opportunities that are anticipated to arise from this new tea-trading environment.
Lakhindar Kurmi, the central assistant general secretary of ATTSA, stated that educated individuals from tea garden communities should be prioritized for roles throughout the operational spectrum of the Assam Chai Bazaar. He insisted that the hiring process for various positions related to the auction centre's operations—including management, office tasks, data entry, accounting, logistics, and other technical and administrative roles—should favor qualified youth from tea gardens and the broader tea community.
Kurmi highlighted that this demand should encompass not just traditional office roles but also the extensive range of activities supporting the auction platform, such as transportation, tea handling and movement, warehouse management, documentation, inventory tasks, and other jobs linked to the storage and management of tea at the Assam Chai Bazaar warehouses.
ATTSA pointed out that this demand is particularly important given the historical contributions of tea garden workers to Assam’s economy and the global reputation of Assam tea. They noted that generations of tea community workers have labored tirelessly, yet many still face economic and social hardships.
According to ATTSA, the landscape is slowly changing, with an increasing number of young individuals from tea community families achieving higher education. The organization highlighted that thousands of graduates, postgraduates, and technically skilled youths from these communities are actively seeking job opportunities.
Furthermore, ATTSA has called on authorities to establish a formal system to facilitate the recruitment and involvement of eligible local youth in various activities linked to the new auction centre. They also advocated for a more comprehensive approach to ensure that the benefits generated by the tea economy are shared with the communities that have historically supported the industry.