Bhagalpur silk industry victim of political neglect

Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar may have impressed many by his lucrative “seven resolves”, employment generation and skill development plank but weavers of Bhagalpur are disappointed.

Plagued with financial crunch and lack of infrastructure, Rs 500 crore Bhagalpur silk industry has been sick since 1992.

Bhagalpur has been associated with the silk industry for over a century. The industry is famous all over the world for its Tussar silk. Experts say the district was once on the ancient silk route.

Weaver’s welfare association blames government’s neglect for the situation and says the silk industry in Bhagalpur has been facing three major problems — lack of working capital, shortage of yarn and lack of marketing support.

Ziaur Rahman, associated with silk business, says that 1989 communal riots in Bhagalpur pushed the industry completely out of gear. The situation has been getting bad because of the attitude of the government. Rising price of raw material, competition from other states and import of silk from China and Korea have destabilised the life of weavers in Bhagalpur.

Experts said after the riots, China, Korea yarn not only established in Bhagalpur but capitalists and big traders had the privilege to gain a monopoly over the silk industry. According to an estimate, around 200,000 loom owners have no business of their own now.

The loom owners, who used to control the silk business in Bhagalpur, are now working as labourers for big traders, who earn huge profit by exporting the product outside the state. “The situation is so bad that power loom and handloom owners, who used to control the silk business here, have been reduced to daily wage earners and they are now getting something between Rs 150–200 per day,” Ziaur Rahman said.

He added the “the situation can be improved if government comes with a plan to support weavers by providing working capital through low-interest bank loans and various schemes”.

The Bihar Weaver’s Welfare Association agrees to what Mr Rahman and others says. The association members said in last two decades, the number of weavers reduced as most of them, especially youths, have migrated to other states in search of jobs.

Alim Ansari, member Bihar Weavers Welfare Association, believes the silk industry in Bhagalpur has been a victim of political neglect and the government’s indifference is driving loom workers and traditional weavers to other states, as there is no better opportunity left in Bihar. Mr Ansari said the weavers had expected the state government to announce a concrete revival plan for the “sick Bhagalpur silk industry”, which once had the turnover of more than Rs 500 crore and also used to produce more than 2 million meters of silk every year. He said the situation has affected the life of nearly 30 lakh people in Bhagalpur and other adjoining districts, who earlier used to depend on the industry.

The association also claimed that around 100,000 weavers are engaged in separating silk threads from cocoons and yarn spinning for weaving clothes “but all this has been reduced to half after many handloom weavers migrated to other states out of poverty”.

The dying industry has now pinned its hope on the state government, which has announced a mega textile cluster to improve the economic and social condition of the Bhagalpur weavers.

Speaking on the issue on behalf of the state government, JD (U) spokesperson Niraj Kumar told this newspaper: “The issues related to the Bhagalpur weavers are very important for our government. The work for their upliftment is being done and the state has announced a textile cluster for the area.”

As per an estimate, there are around 15,000 handlooms, involved in the production of cocoon-based silk, which is still considered best in the international market. Another important aspect, which played an important role in the downfall of silk industry, is the absence of raw material and lack of marketing. “We requested the government to create a cocoon bhandaar (cocoon warehouse) in Bhagalpur to bring down the rates and compete with China and Korea, which have entered the market with cheaper rates, but to no avail,” Mr Ansari said.