Ilam. Historical tea gardens, considered the starting point of Nepal's industrial history, have fallen into extreme distress and crisis after being privatized for over two and a half decades. The legacy of tea cultivation, which began in 1920 BS when then Badahakim Gajrajsingh Thapa planted saplings brought from China in the soil of Ilam, has now become a victim of commercial interests and government apathy.In 2057 BS, the government sold 65 percent of the shares of Nepal Tea Development Corporation Limited to Triveni Shanghai Group, leasing the gardens for 50 years. Since then, not only has corporate monopoly emerged in...