KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress whip Nischal Rai criticized government inaction in the House of Representatives session today, revealing that over 83 tea factories in Ilam have shut down due to a restrictive new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) imposed by the Tea Board of India.

Under the new Indian policy, quality testing takes over two weeks—during which tea cannot be sold—and shipments face destruction if minor issues are found.

Rai stated that the three-day shutdown has left green tea leaves rotting, cost laborers their jobs, and left debt-ridden entrepreneurs unable to pay bank interest.

He slammed the Prime Minister for ignoring an industry that exports over 30 million kilograms of tea annually, despite repeated pleas from tea associations to various ministries.

Through the Speaker, Rai demanded immediate Government-to-Government (G2G) diplomatic intervention to resume exports, the urgent construction of a domestic tea testing laboratory, and state support to diversify exports into third-country markets.