Dhaka, Oct. 7 -- A government task force proposal to shift the tea sector from industry to agriculture is "not an intellectually sound" move, Hossain Zillur Rahman has said.

"Tea is an industry. It has a cultural heritage. This is not an intellectually sound proposal from the government," the former advisor to the caretaker government said on Wednesday.

He spoke at a consultation titled "Bangladesh Cha Shilpa Punorgothon: Cha Shromiker Opor Er Probhab" or Restructuring Bangladesh's Tea Industry: Its Impact on Tea Workers, held at the National Press Club in Dhaka.

Zillur said the move sat oddly with the government's own push for financial inclusion, and would chiefly benefit owners, who stand to gain cheaper bank loans, while doing noth...