Strike hits output of India's Darjeeling teas

KOLKATA, India, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Thousands of Indian tea plantation workers in the Darjeeling region went on strike on Monday demanding higher wages, and have threatened to step up their protests, endangering output of premium brews.

The day-long stoppage hit peak-season activity on 350 gardens in the Himalayan region in eastern India, which also suffered in June during protests for a separate state for the region's ethnic Nepalis, known as Gorkhas.

"The Darjeeling tea industry will lose about 20 million rupees ($475,000) a day owing to these strikes," Rajiv Lochan, a tea garden owner and secretary of the Siliguri Tea Traders' Association, told Reuters.

The region produces about 10 million kg of premium teas which sell at up to six times the price of other grades.

"We will resort to an indefinite strike from Aug. 18 if our demands are not met," said Orient Kawar, a striking worker.

Tea officials said the workers' demands were unrealistic.

"The cost of production is going up ... the demand for wage revision has to be practical," said Aditya Khaitan, chairman of the Indian Tea Association. (Reporting by Sujoy Dhar, Editing by Mark Williams)