GTA chief to lay
foundation of Chinchona Factory and inaugurate cymbidium park
Kalimpong March
28: Come Mungpoo April 3 and the only second to tea industry in the hills, the
Chincona Plantation under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) now
will get a fresh lease of life. The GTA chief Bimal Gurung will formally lay
the foundation stone of the closed factory of the Chinchona Plantation in a bid
to revitalize it that has been closed since 1999.
D.K. Waiba
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| The Chinchona Factory at Mungpoo. |
The Chinchona
Plantation under the Directorate of West Bengal Food processing and Horticulture
Department was handed over to the GTA by the State government after the
agreement was signed for the GTA last year. The unit is the backbone of economy
for hundreds and thousands of people living in Mungpoo. The factory however
used to produce Quinine out of the bark of Cinchona and is in high demand at
the international market.
“The re-opening
of the factory is a long standing demand of the people of Mungpoo. The issue
was raised in the State Assembly several times earlier during the left front rule.
The Left front government had also promised the reopening of the factory but it
was not done so. Eventually after the formation of the GTA step has been taken
to revive the factory that will bring cheers among the people,” said Dr.
G.C.Subba, the Director of Cinchona Plantation in Mungpoo today.
The Chinchona
Plantation was started in the year 1862 but due to some unknown reasons the
factory had to be shut down in 1999. Since then various forms of agitation had
been witnessed but to no avail. The government at one point of time had also
decided to privatize the whole unit that could have posed a future cordon for
the workers of the plantation. “Gurung will lay the foundation stone on April 3
and this is a huge sigh of relief for the workers here,” added Subba.
The cost of
revitalization of the factory has been pegged at over Rs.50 crore. During the
first phase a Machine that will grind the bark of Chinchona will be placed. The
extract will be sold at the international market which has a high demand said Subba.
“When the process will start benefiting the industry we will install more
machines,” he added. From the extract medicines for diseases like Malaria and
heart disorders can be made.
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| The Cymbidium Park |
The good news for
the residents eventually does not stop here. The Director informed that on the
same day Gurung will also inaugurate the first of its kind Cymbidium Park
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