Talawakelle Tea Estates’, Palani Selvi from the Bearwell Estate was crowned the Hayleys Plantations Best Tea Plucker for year 2020 with an incredible harvesting rate of 19.4 kg per hour, winninga cash prize of Rs. 40,000 and an all-expense paid trip for herself and four of her family members to India.
In addition to the winners of the overall contest, company-level winners were also presented with similar awards, with first prize winners also being provided with a family trip to India, while second place winners were provided an all-expense paid family trip within Sri Lanka and third place winners were presented with trophies and valuable vouchers for retail items worth Rs. 20,000.
Inspired by the one-off national Best Tea Plucker Competition organised by the Sri Lanka Tea Board in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Ceylon Tea in 2018, Hayleys Plantations made the bold decision to carry forward the competition within its estates based on the strong positive response from its employees towards the contest.
Judged by specialists and senior members of the industry, the final rounds of the competition brought together families of the participants, the senior management of the Hayleys Group, while Hayleys Chairman and Chief Executive, Mohan Pandithage served as Chief Guest at the event.
The event also incorporated the Hayleys Group wide tree planting initiative with the planting of a white sandalwood sapling by the senior management of the Hayleys Group.
