Kathmandu, Jan 3 - Dabur Nepal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dabur India and one of the kingdom’s biggest exporters, Wednesday announced it was shutting down its NRS 100-million greenhouse growing rare medicinal herbs due to harassment by Maoist insurgents.

“It is a regrettable thing and will put all joint ventures on the backfoot,” said Udayan Ganguly, chief executive officer of Dabur Nepal, at a hastily called press conference Wednesday to announce the closure of the greenhouse in Banepa, about 25 km east of here.

“Anybody will think twice (before investing in Nepal).” Ganguly also said that while Dabur Nepal’s chief profit making unit, its factory at Birgunj, remains operational, the company would “have to think again” if that too came under Maoist attack.

The Banepa greenhouse was part of Dabur Nepal’s corporate responsibility project in Nepal, providing employment to 60-80 local women.

On Dec 21, 15-20 Maoist cadres belonging to the dreaded labour union of the rebels stormed into the greenhouse and abused as well as manhandled the women, Dabur Nepal said in a statement.

“As a responsible corporate organisation, our primary philosophy is to safeguard and secure individuals who are working with us, especially ladies,” the statement said.

“Given the kind of security situation and continued threats by the Maoists, from which we were unable to protect ourselves adequately, we have taken a corporate policy decision not to succumb to any unreasonable pressure.”

Currently, there are 15,00,000 rare and endangered herbal plants grown in the greenhouse to be used in Dabur Nepal’s ayurvedic products. Through 20 satellite farms and 24 cooperatives in 22 districts, the project provides livelihood to thousands of farmers.

The rebels are believed to have been asking the authorities to employ a larger number of workers, a recent campaign by them that has been targeting other MNCs like Coke and Pepsi.

“This is not a factory but a research project,” Ganguly said. “We can’t meet such unreasonable demands.”

Though the ayurvedic giant has taken up the case with both the Nepal government and the Indian embassy in Kathmandu, so far there has been no assurance of security. The authorities said a police vehicle called to the greenhouse on the day of trouble did a U-turn and left.

In the past too, Dabur Nepal has faced extortion threats by the Maoists and once had a bomb thrown at its factory gate in Birgunj.(IANS)