ITA partners with Rainforest Alliance to help frontline health workers in tea estates

Our Correspondent

TINSUKIA: Expressing concern over increasing trend of COVID-19 among tea workers, the Rainforest Alliance, an international non-profit organization engaged to create a better future for people and nature in partnership with the Indian Tea Association (ITA), has supported tea estate frontline health workers, including Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, by providing basic health and?personal protective gear to 1,450 health workers in the 145 Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates during the period from September to October.

This partnership will allow health workers to serve nearly 350,000 tea estate population, including workers and their families, in 145 tea estates spread over the several tea districts of the Brahmaputra Valley and Barak Valley. The materials distributed include infrared thermometers, 3 ply face masks, rubber gloves, hand sanitizers, face shields, goggles and head caps. The distribution, which began on September 21, has so far covered 52 gardens under Zone-1 of ABITA while materials and protective gears were allotted to 58 RA certified gardens.

In the inaugural programme, Rosy Choudhury, Rainforest Alliance's Director for South Asia, said, "We aim to create a better future for people in India with a focus on tea, coffee and other products by making responsible business. Working with producers, workers, companies and consumers, we try to address some of the most pressing social and environmental challenges."

Arijit Raha, Secretary General of ITA who was also present in the programme, said, "ITA's COVID response has been further strengthened with this initiative and we are grateful to Rainforest Alliance for partnering with ITA in this venture."

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