Bhagalpur weavers make face masks for survival

BHAGALPUR: The handloom workers associated with silk manufacturing industry are making face masks to generate some income amid the lockdown.
Around 50,000 face masks made of silk, cotton and linen have already been prepared by the local handloom workers associated with Resham Bunkar Khadi Evam Gramodyog Sangh (RBKEGS) at Nathnagar, the hub of weavers producing Bhagalpur’s famous tussar silk.
The face masks are being supplied to khadi board through the district industries centre at Bhagalpur at the rate of Rs15 per piece. The face masks are reusable.
Apart from masks, they are also preparing cotton-linen towel (gamcha) for the khadi board as well as the local market.
The weavers said local silk industry is badly affected owing to the nationwide lockdown. Around 10,000 weavers and their families, who were working in nearly 200 handloom and powerloom units in Nathnagar locality, are struggling for survival.
Alim Ansari, secretary of RBKEGS, said tussar silk and similar products worth Rs100 crore are dumped. “The silk products are not only sold in India but across the world,” he said.
He added: “The members of weaving community are struggling for survival due to closure of local markets and inability to supply products to exporters. Therefore, we are encouraging the weavers to produce cotton-linen-silk face masks for livelihood.”
Ansari said they have requested the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and other government agencies to requisition the face masks and gamchas being prepared in Bhagalpur to save the wobbling silk industry.
Chartered accountant Pradip Jhunjhunwala said the business of silk industry is worth more than Rs600 crore per annum and it needs a revival plan by the Centre as well as the state government to boost it.