GUWAHATI: At least 600 tea garden workers in Assam have died of communicable diseases in the past three months.

"Most of them died of gastroenteritis, diarrhoea and malaria, besides other waterborne diseases with virtually no medical aid coming in from the garden managements," Durga Bhumij, president of the Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association (ATTSA), said.

A majority of the casualties were reported from the northern district of Sonitpur where more than 250 plantation workers died in the past three months.

"We are taking all possible measures from our side," said Assam Health Minister Bhumidhar Barman.

"But it is the responsibility of the tea garden managements to ensure they provide clean drinking water, besides adequate healthcare facilities for its workers," the minister said.

"In many cases we found the tea managements lacking in providing even the basic minimum facilities for its workers."

India is the world's largest tea producer, with Assam accounting for about 55 per cent of the total 856 million kg produced last year.

India's $1.5-billion tea industry is facing the worst crisis in about a century with prices dropping in the weekly auctions. The industry is also facing a slump in export figures and domestic consumption.