Jalandhar's cricket ball units on verge of closure

jalandhar: in the competitive world emerging under the fast-changing wto regime, religious and cultural factors can at times become decisive in carving the quality of a product and its competitiveness. this glaring phenomenon can be witnessed in the field of cricket ball manufacturing. jalandhar has been the number one exporter of cricket balls in the country.however, at the national level it has been overtaken by meerut. at the international level, sialkot region in pakistan is number one. one of the important factors that is affecting the quality of cricket balls made in jalandhar, which has around 50 units in the small-scale sector, is the quality of leather available in india. according to a manufacturer, here, the quality of leather available in pakistan is far superior to the indian leather. the reason for this is the way animals are slaughtered in pakistan for the production of leather. here, leather is produced from the skins of dead animals. all sports manufacturers before the partition were based in sialkot. there the britishers first brought with them the techniques of making cricket balls and bats. after partition, many of these people who crossed over to india settled down in jalandhar. it is said that the decision was taken on the spur of the moment as the train got delayed. today, they are on the verge of extinction. out of the 50 units only four or five are likely to survive in the increasingly competitive market. apart from the quality of leather being poorer, leather prices, here, have shot up in the last few months by at least 40 per cent. the regional and national market is being supplied balls made in meerut, where leather is cheaper and labour, too, is cheaper. labour is 50 per cent cheaper than in jalandhar, say manufacturers. for international cricket matches it is pakistan-made balls that are used. they say that the exposures made in the media about match-fixing dealt the first severe blow to production of bats, balls and other related items. and now it is increasing competition. "skilled workers are taking to the roads as the 54-year-old cricket ball manufacturing units in the city have slowed down their production. at least 60 per cent units are on the verge of closure. the government is exporting leather and so the prices of leather available to us have gone up. like the cricket bat manufacturing units, these are also going to close down. a bat made here costs more than a bat imported from outside. thousands of families that have been dependent on this industry will lose their bread earners," says ravinder dhir, president of the sports forum, jalandhar. "we sell a cricket ball to the wholesaler at rs 55. he further sells it for rs 63. even at this high price we are suffering losses. the prices of leather and the cost of labour are the main factors. as the units are closing down, or slowing down the rate of production, the workers are going back to their villages and waiting for things to improve. but that may not ever happen," says tarsem lal, a manufacturer. dhir says that daily he sees more and more skilled workers from these units taking to unskilled professions. "they have taken to rickshaw-pulling. i have seen one selling chana bhatura. it's going to lead to escalation in crime, too, as the pressure mounts on the families. they cannot afford to buy medicine for the sick and aged in their families. the government should protect them." raj kumar is 65-years old. he sits quietly in one of the tiny units in basti gujan stitching together the leather of a cricket ball. there are at least 10 different specialists involved in the making of a cricket ball. "i came from sialkot in 1947," he says. "this has been our profession for three generations. but now i have not allowed my younger son to adopt it, as there are going to be no jobs available. a number of units have closed down and the boys have no other skill to earn a livelihood."