Jorhat, Feb. 23: Cinnamara tea estate will convert one of the British-era bungalows in the garden into a tourist guest house in an attempt to woo foreign tourists.

Set up by first Indian commercial tea planter Maniram Dewan, Cinnamara will complete 175 years in 2018 and the authorities have decided to sell the unexplored paradise of the enchanting tea garden to tourists.

Cinnamara, now owned by the Assam Tea Corporation Limited (ATCL), still houses the graveyard of the freedom fighter, who died at the gallows.

"There is tremendous potential in the ATCL gardens, especially Cinnamara, to attract foreign tourists. These gardens are a treasure trove of Assam tea. We have decided to develop the managing director's bungalow at Cinnamara tea estate into a tourist guest house," ATCL managing director Depur Haraprasad told The Telegraph. However, no timeframe has been set yet.

Cinnamara and Senglung tea estates were started by Dewan between 1843 and 1845 after he resigned from the post of dewan, land agent and chief executive, of India's first tea company, the Assam Company.

Although Cinnamara still exists, Senglung got lost in time and there were no records available about the garden, till Pradip Baruah, a tea expert undertaking research on Assam tea on behalf of TeaVision, an NGO, discovered the tea estate a couple of years back in Sivasagar district.

History has it that Cinnamara was confiscated by the British and auctioned off soon after the execution of Dewan in 1858 for his role in the freedom struggle. British tea company George Williamson purchased the two estates. However, they fell on bad times as the labourers refused to cooperate with the new owner. They remained loyal to Maniram Dewan, forcing the company to part with them.

Cinnamara tea estate was taken over by Jorehaut Tea Company and developed later.

The heritage bungalow at the tea estate is located amidst lush green tea bushes has been given a facelift to make the stay comfortable for tourists.

"We are also planning to preserve many tea bushes in the company gardens that are over 150 years old and there would be a small museum at the e state where old photographs, history of the garden, artefacts would be on display," Haraprasad said.

Cinnamara tea estate has been one of the prime properties of the ATCL, located just about 5km south of Jorhat town on the Jorhat-Nagaland road.

The ATCL, which was established in 1972, is a wholly-owned Assam government public sector undertaking with 15 tea gardens that did brisk business in its heyday.

However, mismanagement and lack of proper initiatives over the years have pushed the company to the brink of closure.

Work in all the 15 gardens came to a standstill between 2002 and 2004, forcing the workers to look for other jobs in urban settlements. The government did try to revive the company in 2005 by providing funds but that was not enough, going by the huge liabilities, which stood at Rs 144 crore in 2002.

The plantation area of all gardens under the ATCL is 7,000 hectares with over 15,000 workers.

"We have to look for every alternate source to earn revenue and since tourism is one sector where these historic gardens have the potential to attract tourists we are planning to develop the MD's bungalow into a tourist guesthouse," Haraprasad said.

The bungalow at Cinnamara tea estate, whose floor is made of teak wood, has been lying unused for several years.

Haraprasad said the garden executives have been directed to dig into old files and get details about each and every garden of the company and these details would be displayed on notice boards in the garden offices.

"Almost all our gardens were started by British planters and each one has its own history. We will make arrangements for tourists to visit these gardens. Tourists would also be presented with tea made in the particular garden they visit," he said.

The company has launched a plantation drive and set a target of completing 500 hectares by June. The company has already purchased 29 tractors and plantation in over 150 hectares has been completed. The plantation drive in new areas is a part of the revival package of the company.

"We are also concentrating on producing quality tea from now on," he said.