EID, POHELA BAISHAKH KNOCKING AT THE DOOR

Sirajul Islam Shishir and Aminul Islam:

Weavers and loom owners in Pabna, Sirajganj and Bogura district are now passing busy time in producing Saree, Lungi and Gamchha (napkin) as Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the largest festivals of the Muslims and Pahela Baishakh, another largest festival of the Bengali nation, are approaching fast.

Though, they are trying to produce international standard clothing in their industries, both the handloom and power-loom owners are also facing some troubles due to indiscriminately price hike of different raw materials including cotton, dye and chemicals. However, the insiders are expecting to see a turnover of Tk 1000 crore this time in the weaving sector of the areas.

Over 20 lakh people of three districts-Sirajganj, Pabna and Bogura are directly and indirectly involved with the works of 3 lakh handloom and power-loom factories in the areas. They used to produce Jamdani, cotton Jamdani, Katan, Benarashi Saree, Lungi and various types of Gamchha in their factories.

As the two largest festivals Eid-ul-Fitr and Pahela Baishakh are knocking at the door, many rich traders and wholesalers from different parts including Dhaka and Chattogram and even from India are gathering at the factories to purchase their products. Some boutique houses in Dhaka supply those Sarees produced by the handloom and power-loom in Pabna, Sirajganj and Bogura to different countries including Dubai, US and India. Those products are highly popular in Kolkata, 24 Pargona, Hugli, Bordhoman, Nadia, Murshidabad, Maldah, Jalpaiguri, Gangarampur, Pashchim Dinajpur, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshmin Dinajpur, Kuchbihar, Hawra and Shuvorajpur in India.

Females are also lending their hands to produce Saree, Lungi and Gamchha besides the male workers. Many female and children work to process and dye cottons.

Weavers said, the demand for loom clothes has increased in the market as well as the prices of those products have also increased. If the prices of raw materials like dye, cotton and chemical were kept under affordability, the factory owners could earn good profit from this sector. However, many rich factory owners are competing with the international market by producing and supplying high quality products.

Abul Kashem of Tamai village in Belkuchi upazila of Sirajganj district told The Daily Sky that, “We incurred huge losses during the Corona pandemic. But now, we are working hard with the aim to recoup the losses by selling our products during the Eid and Pahela Baishakh. Due to rising of raw material prices, our production costs are getting high. We however, expect a good profit this year.”

Ramjan Ali, a factory owner of the same area told The Daily Sky that, “Our workers are passing busy time at the factories as we are receiving huge orders from different parts of the country. If the prices of dye and cotton are controlled by the authorities concerned, the traditional weaving industry in the region will be able to turn around.”

Rashidul Islam, a handloom worker of Gholagari in Sherpur upazila of Bogura district told The Daily Sky that, “The prices of all essential commodities have gone up. To procure the living cost for daily life, we are working hard day and night to check the daily needs.”

Abdul Momin, a wholesale trader said, “I collect Saree and Lungi from Sirajganj, Bogura and Pabna district and then sell those products in Dhaka, Chattogram and other parts of the country. The Saree, produced from these areas, is sold between Tk 500 and Tk 20,000 at different retail markets.”

Baidyanath Roy, General Secretary of Handloom and Power-loom Association in Belkuchi of Sirajganj district told The Daily Sky that, “Orders from different parts of the country are coming regularly. Sometimes, many wholesale traders collect the products directly from factories. This is why; we are expecting a good profit in the upcoming days.”

Badiuzzaman Mandol, President of Handloom and Power-loom Owners Association in Sirajganj told The Daily Sky that, “There is a possibility to turnover of Tk 1000 crore in the weaving sector ahead of the two festivals. If everything is okay, this sector will turn around again overcoming the clutch of immediate past Corona pandemic.”