Handloom industry collapses in Pabna and Sirajganj, hundreds of thousands of workers jobless

The handloom industry in Pabna and Sirajganj has a long tradition. As the industry expanded it became the source of livelihood for nearly 1.5 million people. The clattering sound of looms can be heard across the two districts. But that sound is gradually fading. The entire industry has come to a standstill under the combined pressure of frequent load shedding, high prices of yarn and dyes and rising fuel prices. Many power looms and Chittaranjan semi-automatic looms have shut down amid losses. As a result, hundreds of thousands of small-scale weavers and workers have lost their jobs.

According to data from local basic centers of the Bangladesh Handloom Board Pabna and Sirajganj are among the country’s largest handloom hubs. The two districts have around 450,000 power looms and Chittaranjan looms. The livelihoods of 1.2 million to 1.5 million people depend on them. Sarees and lungis produced in the region met much of the domestic demand and were also exported.

However, the situation has changed completely in recent times. Production has been disrupted by the power crisis and manufacturers are not getting the desired prices for their products in the market. As a result, factory owners are being forced to shut down their factories. According to local weavers’ associations 200,000 to 250,000 of the total 450,000 looms in the two districts, or 50 to 60 percent, are completely closed or partially inactive.

Handloom industry owners said each power loom requires an average of three to four workers for yarn production, dyeing, drying, winding yarn onto bobbins and weaving fabric. Overall, the livelihoods of millions of people directly and indirectly depend on this sector. But frequent load shedding and losses have forced factories to remain closed.

“Twenty-five to 30 thousand factories have already closed due to the three-way crisis. Those that are still operating cannot run for more than four to five hours a day because of load shedding. As a result, around 175,000 to 200,000 handloom workers in the two districts are currently unemployed after losing work opportunities. With their sources of income gone many are being forced to take up alternative jobs such as driving rickshaws and vans or working as day laborers,” officials of the Bangladesh Handloom Board and local weavers’ associations said.

Pabna’s Kulunia village handloom owners Syed Ali and Abu Jafar of Dogachi village said they have no choice but to run generators when electricity remains unavailable for hours. However, due to a shortage of diesel in the market and its high price they have to spend an additional around Tk 1,500 every day to run generators for four to five hours. The cost is directly added to their losses. As a result, the production cost of fabric has risen abnormally.

“The prices of all materials including yarn, dyes, soda and acid have increased significantly. A bale of 50 count yarn has risen from Tk 14,500 a year ago to Tk 22,200. It is impossible to sustain the business without getting a fair price for products against the cost of raw materials,” said Kamal Bepari, a yarn trader from the same village, and Dabir Uddin, a dyeing factory owner, describing the situation.

The sharp decline in production has also hit workers’ wages. Santhia handloom workers Abul Hossain, Raham Ali and Magreb Ali said they could previously weave three to four pieces of lungi fabric a day. Due to the lack of electricity they now struggle to produce even two pieces throughout the day. As a result, their weekly income has fallen from Tk 3,000 to Tk 4,000 to Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,500.

Wholesale sellers at Shahjadpur market said sales have fallen sharply due to higher fabric prices caused by increased production costs and the impact of the economic downturn. Traders from Rangpur, Dhaka and Chattogram previously bought four to eight truckloads of fabric at each market. Now they buy only one to two truckloads.

The Enayetpur, Shahjadpur, Belkuchi and Ataikula markets developed around the handloom industry of Pabna and Sirajganj used to see transactions worth hundreds of crores of taka every week. Traders from different parts of the country as well as Indian buyers purchased sarees and lungis from these markets. According to local banks and traders’ sales of fabric, exports and bank transactions have currently declined by 50 to 70 percent.

“During normal times fabric sales and purchases and bank transactions worth Tk 300 crore to Tk 400 crore took place every week at the region’s major markets. Currently the figure has fallen by up to 70 percent to Tk 100 crore to Tk 150 crore,” the traders added.

Abdul Gafur, president of the Bera Upazila Weavers’ Association, and leaders of the Handloom and Powerloom Owners Association said weavers are having to pay minimum electricity bills while also running generators with diesel purchased at high prices. They warned that the traditional industry could be completely destroyed unless electricity supply is restored quickly and government policy support is provided.

Regarding the power situation and the resulting crisis Ahmed Shah Al Jaber, general manager of Pabna Palli Bidyut Samity 2, said the daily electricity demand in this handloom concentrated area is 74 megawatts while the maximum supply available is 61 megawatts. He said the difficulties faced by small scale entrepreneurs have been brought to the attention of the government at the highest level. Accordingly, a decision has also been made to manage load shedding through rationing across the country. “We hope the situation will improve to some extent soon.”