Calcutta, Aug. 1: Heavy rains in Maharashtra have affected tea auctions in Calcutta, Guwahati and Siliguri ? the three main centres in north India.

The enquiries from Maharashtra are subdued and uncertainty looms large on the tea industry because of continuing rains.

The subdued enquiry has forced the Calcutta tea auctions to be postponed by a day. “The auction centres will review the situation by tomorrow and then decide on the next week’s course of action,” officials of the Calcutta Tea Traders’ Association said.

Nearly 3 million kg of tea is up for sale at the Calcutta centre. Some of the buyers from Maharashtra also get tea from private parties.

In most cases, payments against the last week’s sale have been held up as banks failed to operate because of heavy rains.