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'Shital Pati ' carpet industry facing setback due to dominance of plastic products

'Shital Pati ' carpet industry facing setback due to dominance of plastic products

Shahzadpur (Sirajganj) Correspondent

'Shital Pati ' is one of the names of rural art and tradition.Shital Patti industry of Chandpur village of traditional Jhail Union of Kamarkhand Upazila of Sirajganj is on the verge of losing this industry due to the huge potential of cold carpet industry.

At one time, this cool carpet of Chandpur was marketed in different districts of the country including Dhaka to meet the needs of upazilas and districts.But with the passage of time, there are very few pictures of Shital Patti, a traditional tradition of rural Bengal, being sold anywhere.The artisans of this industry are living in dire straits due to financial crisis, rising commodity prices, scarcity of materials and lack of buyers.Majority of the people in this village in the upazila are Hindus.Men and women in this village have been involved in Shital Pati industry since the time of their fathers and grandfathers.

Their family survives by weaving and selling Shital rugs.Currently, this cool carpet industry is getting lost in the dominance of plastic products.As sales are not high, artisans are not getting fair price for their work.Despite this, the women of this area have maintained the ancient traditions of their forefathers with great difficulty.About 800 men and women of about 200 families of this village are still sustaining this industry because of their occupation of this caste. Going to the ground, it can be seen that there are artisans of all religions of the village, young, old, Hindu and Muslim communities.

Men are cutting cane from the land.Later they are boiled and dried in the sun to make a kind of wicker yarn.After drying the wicker yarns in the sun, they are again dried in the sun with bahari dyes.After drying the wicker yarn in the sun, men and women workers are making cool rugs with skillful hands.Depending on the type, each cool rug is sold from about 1 thousand to 5 thousand taka.

Sohagi, Anita, Sithi Rani, Ratri, and Rishi, these women artisans, say that their families run on the money of Shital rugs.The value of cool carpets has decreased a lot.Even though the price of Shital rugs has increased slightly, their wages have not increased.According to the size of the carpet, the artisans get from Tk 220 to Tk 300.It takes them two to three days to weave a rug.According to the labor and time required to weave a rug, they are not getting fair wages.

Dhananjay, the young entrepreneur of Shital Pati industry of the village, said that it is better to manage Shital Pati industry in a commercial way.My ancestors have been associated with Shital Pati since independence.His family survives by weaving and selling cool rugs. Currently, the value of cool mats has decreased for various plastic products including plastic mats and thick polythene paper.

Jhail Union Parishad Chairman Altaf Hossain Thandu said, we are providing all the facilities on behalf of the local government department. In order not to lose this traditional industry in any way, I always keep in touch with all those involved in the Shital Patti industry of Chandpur village.'

Upazila Parishad Chairman SM Shahidullah Sabuj said that the work of the ancestors of Jhail Chandpur village in the upazila is traditionally done by the poor common people of the area and this industry, which was widespread before, is now shrinking a little. The biggest pride of this Shital rug is that it is exported abroad through different moneylenders and traders outside the country.

However, cultivation and production of the raw trade of that cool carpet is shrinking.We are doing various consultations with the artisans to keep this industry alive and we have already arranged a loan through Sonali Bank.

More cooperation is needed so that this industry can be marketed more widely.In that case I draw the attention of the Ministry of Cottage Industries and concerned authorities in this regard so that this industry can be kept alive.There is a possibility of generating more employment through this shital patti industry and earning foreign exchange by exporting shital patti abroad.

In this regard, Kamarkhand Upazila Nirbahi Officer Marina Sultana said, the carpet village in Kamarkhand is a traditional village and they have been engaged in making carpets since many years.On behalf of the upazila administration, I have tried to cooperate with them at various times.2/3 times every year we are making arrangements to train them.

Through this training they will learn how to develop new products.The cool rugs they are making are trained to make the cool rugs more modern so that people can see them and people are interested in buying them.The problem they are currently facing is that plastic products have taken over the market.In order to compete with them, they must be more careful and make high-quality rugs.

Besides, we give their products as gifts or souvenirs on the occasion of any program in the upazila. If outsiders have any suggestions that we would be better off doing this, we will try to extend a helping hand if they let us know.

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