Ceylon Today Editorial

President’s focus on upcountry

23 January 2017

President Maithripala Sirisena graced the occasion marking the 150th anniversary of the tea industry in the island and the 92nd anniversary of the Tea Research Institute, Talawakele on Saturday (21).

The tea industry started by the British in 1867, when James Taylor along with Scotsman Thomas Lipton planted tea in just 19 acres at Loolecondera Estate a former coffee plantation, remained a key export revenue maker, along with rubber in the country.

However, despite Lankan tea being still respected world over, the tea industry has been neglected to a great extent, with large swathes of tea estates shrinking rapidly with the replacement of vegetable cultivation in several areas in the upcountry.

The frequent agitations staged by plantation workers over salaries as well as the shortcomings in housing, education and health among the plantation community have highlighted their plight and a recent survey has indicated that Nuwara Eliya remains a premier district affected by malnutrition.

The plantation community is no more dependent entirely on the tea bushes of the hill country for their livelihood. In the past several decades, the social structure of the plantation community has changed extensively with the present generation of the upcountry labour force focusing on various fields.

However, the majority of upcountry folk who were brought by the British as a major work force to enhance the tea and rubber industry still remain below the poverty line.

President Maithripala Sirisena addressing the celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of the tea industry in the country said that he would prioritize eradication of malnutrition among the plantation community in Nuwara Eliya.

Unlike in the past, the plantation community is well represented in Parliament and other local bodies. But hardly any action is being taken to improve the living conditions of the upcountry folk by politicians who represent them.

President Sirisena speaking at the Tea Research Institute, Talawakele last Saturday, while thanking the plantation community for extending its overwhelming support to him at the last Presidential election said appropriate measures would be taken to uplift their living conditions.

Since the inception of the tea industry in the country, the upcountry labour force remained the backbone of our country's economy for the past 150 years. Several changes have taken place in the country in the past several decades, but the people in the upcountry have not been given due importance with regard to the enhancement of their living conditions.

President Sirisena who was compelled to land at Kotagala due to adverse weather conditions on his way to Talawakele by helicopter last Saturday, had even pointed out at the Tea Research Institute event that he was able to have a closer look into the humanitarian issues of the upcountry people when he conversed with a group of villagers in Kotagala.

The President also pointed out that several schools in the upcountry remained without proper sanitation or drinking water facilities.

With President Sirisena having a closer look into the shortcomings of the upcountry community, the pertinent questions remain where have the political heavy weights and so-called trade unions from the upcountry gone? And what have they been doing in the best interest of their people?

The civil war in the country has led to enormous humanitarian issues in the North and the East. The support extended by the people from the North and the East at the last Presidential Election was significant along with the overwhelming support extended to President Sirisena at the Presidential Poll by the people in the upcountry.

Considering the plight of the people affected by the civil war in the North and the East, President Sirisena's frequent visits to the two Provinces have initiated several constructive development activities to erase the enormous humanitarian issues in the war-torn areas.

By attending the 150th anniversary celebration of the tea industry and even focusing attention on the plight of the upcountry people, who remain the vital strength of the tea industry, President Maithripala Sirisena must now throw his weight to uplift the living conditions of the hill country on a war footing.