Orange Valley Tea Garden Explained

Orange Valley Tea Garden
Other Name:Bloomfield Tea Garden
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:India West Bengal # India
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in West Bengal, India
Coordinates:27.0316°N 88.2385°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:West Bengal
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Darjeeling
Unit Pref:Metric
Population Total:2901
Population As Of:2011
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:IST
Utc Offset1:+5:30
Postal Code Type:PIN
Area Code Type:Telephone/STD code
Blank1 Name Sec1:Lok Sabha constituency
Blank1 Info Sec1:Darjeeling
Blank2 Name Sec1:Vidhan Sabha constituency
Blank2 Info Sec1:Darjeeling

Orange Valley Tea Garden is a village in the Darjeeling Pulbazar CD block in the Darjeeling Sadar subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India.

History

What was earlier known as Bloomfield Tea Garden was renamed Orange Valley Tea Garden, when the ownership was transferred from Bloomfield Tea Company to Orange Valley Tea Limited. It is now owned by the Bagaria Group.[1]

Geography

Location

Orange Valley Tea Garden is located at 27.0316°N 88.2385°W.

Area overview

The map alongside shows the northern portion of the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region. Kangchenjunga, which rises with an elevation of is located further north of the area shown.[2] Sandakphu, rising to a height of, on the Singalila Ridge, is the highest point in West Bengal.[3] In Darjeeling Sadar subdivision 61% of the total population lives in the rural areas and 39% of the population lives in the urban areas.[4] [5] There are 78 tea gardens/ estates (the figure varies slightly according to different sources), producing and largely exporting Darjeeling tea in the district. It engages a large proportion of the population directly/ indirectly.[6] Some tea gardens were identified in the 2011 census as census towns or villages.[7] Such places are marked in the map as CT (census town) or R (rural/ urban centre). Specific tea estate pages are marked TE.

Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Bloomfield Tea Garden had a total population of 2,901 of which 1,434 (49%) were males and 1,467 (51%) were females. There were 219 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The total number of literate people in Bloomfield Tea Garden was 2,229 (76.84% of the population over 6 years).[8]

Orange Valley Tea Garden

Orange Valley Tea Garden is a bio-organic garden producing mainly black tea. It is spread over an area of at an altitude ranging from above mean sea level. It produces 110,000 kg tea annually from the old Chinary bushes planted by the British. These are replaced at the rate of 2% per year.[1] [9]

Orange Valley Tea Garden is a Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP) and certified as Bio-organic & Rain Forest Alliance, UTZ, ETP, COR, JAS. It has secured Fair Trade Certification.[9]

The Bagaria Group is headed by Sheo Shankar Bagaria, assisted by Abhishek Bagaria and Asish Bagaria. In the Darjeeling hills, it also has tea gardens at Phuguri and Gayabaree & Millikthong, both in the Mirik area. One of the group companies Kusum International is tea trading and export set-up. It exports tea to Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Dubai, European countries, USA and Canada.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Darjeeling Tea Estates: N-P . Orange Valley Tea Estate . Darjeeling Tourism . 16 March 2020.
  2. Book: Gurung, H. . Shrestha, R. K. . amp . 1994 . Nepal Himalaya Inventory . Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation . Kathmandu.
  3. Web site: Sandakphu-Phalut Trek. Himalayan High . 21 March 2020.
  4. Web site: Darjeeling . District Profile - General Information . District administration . 21 March 2020 .
  5. Web site: District Statistical Handbook 2013 Darjeeling . Tables 2.2, 2.4b . Department of Planning and Statistics, Government of West Bengal . 21 March 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190121045803/http://www.wbpspm.gov.in/publications/District%20Statistical%20Handbook . 21 January 2019 . dead .
  6. Web site: Darjeeling Tea. District administration . 21 March 2020.
  7. Web site: 2011 Census – Primary Census Abstract Data Tables . West Bengal – District-wise . Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India . 21 March 2020 .
  8. Web site: 2011 Census – Primary Census Abstract Data Tables . West Bengal – District-wise . Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India . 16 March 2020 .
  9. Web site: Orange Valley & Bloomfield Tea Estate (Bio Organic) . Bagaria Group . 16 March 2020.