Staff Correspondent, Narayanganj

With another Eid season approaching, the loom workers of Narayanganj and Narsingdi dream of recovering from their losses and restarting their business with renewed enthusiasm. However, last Eid season's payments are still due. Even during the quota movement, grey fabric remained unsold. Overall, the past year has been difficult, and financial hardship continues to plague the weavers of the greater Narayanganj region (including Narsingdi, Madhabdi, and Araihazar).

Wholesale buyers took fabric from the mills a month ago, yet neither the loom workers nor the mill owners have received their payments. As a result, mill owners are unable to pay the wages of weavers. A syndicate of yarn, dye, and fabric buyers has risen like a venomous serpent in this industry. The only way to break free from this grip is for fabric sellers—i.e., mill owners—to form their own syndicate. There is no other alternative because the buyer syndicate purchases fabric on credit worth millions and dictates the price. This shows how helpless mill owners have become. The trapped mill owners cannot speak firmly to save the industry.

Given the circumstances, stakeholders believe that the only way to counter the existing syndicate is by forming another syndicate of fabric manufacturers. Otherwise, market analysts fear that the death knell for the loom industry in Narayanganj and Narsingdi will soon be sounded. Syndicate must be broken by forming another syndicate.

In the mid-1980s, the loom industry suffered a major collapse. The Ershad government attempted to revive it by providing loans to weavers. However, since these loans were given without collateral, most of the money was misused. Even those who received loans could not recover. The loom industry was destroyed, handlooms disappeared, and weavers became unemployed, causing Narsingdi's rich weaving heritage to fade away.

This led to the rise of power looms introduced by local innovators Abdul Ali and Nizam Master. These looms, powered by electricity, started producing polyester lawn and dyed fabric. Gradually, power loom factories emerged in Narsingdi, initially operating in tin-roofed huts with bamboo walls.

Today, this industry has flourished into a prestigious textile sector. Advanced power looms from China, Japan, and Korea have transformed Narsingdi into a textile hub. The district now houses thousands of textile mills, meeting 73% of the country’s fabric demand. This has contributed to national economic growth and led to the establishment of related industries such as spinning mills, sizing mills, printing houses, finishing, and processing mills.

However, despite being the backbone of many livelihoods, the textile mills are now suffering huge losses. Mill owners are struggling to survive, burdened by heavy bank loans. For years, they have been at the mercy of two business syndicates:

1. **The spinning syndicate:** Yarn prices are arbitrarily increased at will. Yarn traders in Madhabdi and Narayanganj collaborate with spinners to manipulate prices.

2. **The fabric buyers' syndicate:** These buyers purchase fabric worth millions on credit and then dictate the selling price.

What an absurd situation—mill owners produce fabric, yet the price is determined by these "lords" of the market! Loom workers are treated as naive and powerless because they remain at the mercy of these syndicates.

To break free, mill owners must form their own syndicate. No fabric should be sold outside this syndicate. Even if third-party investors are required, a strong syndicate must be established. This would prevent price manipulation and stabilize the market. Weak mill owners should store fabric under the syndicate’s control to maintain fair pricing.

Narayanganj and Narsingdi have a long tradition of textile weaving. During the early Mughal era, handlooms in Narsingdi produced gamchas (thin towels), lungis, and simple one-color saris for household women. Back then, the region was known as "Subarnabithi." Over time, as Hindu landlords established their dominance, the name changed to "Maheshwardi." The area expanded as a textile hub, and cotton production also began, though it did not last long.

During British colonial rule, forced indigo cultivation suppressed cotton farming. Sheker Char's "Babur Haat" was once a wholesale market for woven textiles. Merchants from northern regions would sail down the river to buy fabric.

Later, the area was renamed Narsingdi, and its textile markets, Babur Haat and Narsingdi Bazar, flourished. The industry extended into areas of present-day Brahmanbaria, such as Nabinagar and Salimganj, which became renowned for lungi production. Weavers from across the country worked in this region, contributing to the prosperity of Narsingdi’s loom industry.

However, after independence, the influx of smuggled Indian printed saris reduced the demand for local coarse fabric, leading to the decline of traditional weaving.

Now, with the current crisis, the only way to save this vital industry is by breaking the existing syndicate through unity among textile mill owners. Otherwise, the historic textile industry of Narayanganj and Narsingdi will face complete extinction.