& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Will Bangladesh ever regain its lost jute industry?

A.M.M. Shahabuddin
The new government must come forward with a bold policy to halt further deterioration of the country's once glorious "golden fibre" industry, and put it back on the right track to recapture the lost world market for jute products as well as raw jute. But to make the forthcoming jute revival program successful, the government will have to free it from corruption in all respects. The people can only wait and see which way the wind blows.
WILL Bangladesh ever regain the jute industry? That’s the most burning question that often haunts the people of Bangladesh because jute was once popularly considered, and is still considered, as "golden fiber" for its socio-economic values as well as commercial potential. But the tragedy is that this much-cherished fiber, both as a most valuable agricultural product as well as a raw material for running the mills, seems be almost dead and gone with the wind! Once, raw jute and jute products were the biggest foreign-exchange earner, when jute had created a flourishing international market of its own. spreading its superiority in the world market. How did such a tragic fall come about? It was certainly not a devastating "tornado" or "tsunami" that had suddenly blasted and swept away everything at one go. It had gone through a long process of "ups and downs' before it
reached its present pitiable condition. Let us begin with the beginning.
Prior to the partition of the Indian subcontinent, British jute traders made good use of raw jute. They established jute mills in Calcutta and ensured regular supply of raw jute for their mills from then undivided Bengal. But with the exit of the British, the jute mills were gradually taken over by Indians, marking the entrance of the Indian jute traders in world market.
It may recalled here that jute industry took a new historic turn towards further expansion after the creation of Pakistan in 1947. But it was mostly controlled and guided by the West Pakistan rulers to amass economic benefits forWest Pakistan at the cost of poor Bangalis (then East Pakistanis). They established Asia's largest jute mill, the Adamjee Jute Mill, in Narayanganj in the fifties. Soon it attracted world attention for its high standard of jute products.
The Pakistani rulers made best use of
jute to earn the "golden" returns from the foreign exchange earned by exporting jute products. But while others enjoyed the "meat", then East Pakistan had some "bones" thrown to it! And the poor, unemployed labour class of East Pakistan was happy to find jobs in the Adamjee Mill. This exploitation continued for about two-and-half decades, ending in 1971 when Bangladesh gained independence.
But before the end of their "colonial rule” over East Pakistan, they had made tremendous progress and development in West Pakistan, particularly in the Punjab, with the foreign exchange earned by export of raw jute and jute products. And the building up of a modern capital at Islamabad stands as a glaring example.
But what happened then? Bangladesh emerged as an Independent country, opening a wide new economic vista before the new leadership of the country, with renewed socio-economic development activities all around. Along with development activities in different fields, Adamjee Jute Mill also came back to life under Bangladeshi management. Unfortunately, something went wrong somewhere to derail the progress due to mismanagement, wrong administration and last, but not the least, rampant corruption among the officials who were involved in the running of the mills.
And it is a pity, and we must have moral courage to admit, that the glorious days of Adamjee Jute Mill came to an end because of our own fault. After limping like a lame
duck for about three decades, the Adamjee Mill was given an indecent burial in 2002, when this huge organisation was officially closed down, throwing thousands of mill workers out of employment and ending a strong source of foreign exchange earnings.
Many of our rivals in the field must have their last and best laugh as they were eagerly waiting for this fateful day!The vast area of Adamjee Jute Mill is now a property of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA). Meanwhile, one of the oldest jute mills, the People s Jute Mill, established in Khulna in 1952, was closed down in 2009, throwing some eight thousands workers in the lurch. It is said the mill was nationalised, like many other jute mills, in 1973, opening the door to rampant corruption.
With the closure of Adamjee and the People's Mill, along with other jute mills, another tragedy fell on the jute growers and traders as there were no buyers in the country. opening the gates for smuggling raw jute to India. And the situation worsened when the largest jute producer in the region produced just one lakh tons of jute per year, while India was producing annually over two million metric tons of raw jute.
So the table has turned upside down for Bangladesh and there is no sign of revival unless the present government comes forward to turn the table up for a real change in the country's economic development. However, the people are still hopeful as "hope springs eternal in human breast," as the say.
There are already encouraging signals coming from the government's side, as is evident from the latest move by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Jute and Textile Ministry, asking the authorities concerned "to allocate more money to purchase jute this year." The Committee also asked the authorities concerned "to resume operations of the Second Unit of Adamjee Jute Mill by the end of this year (2009)." It also asked the Jute Ministry "to resume operations" of Kawmi Jute Mills in Sirajganj and Daulatpur Jute Mills in Khulna "as early as possible."
The Parliamentary Committee has thrown tlie ball into the jute ministry's court, and to return the ball the jute minis-
try will have to showits efficiency by implementing the measures suggested by the Parliamentary Committee to revive the fallen jute industry of Bangladesh "as early as possible."
The new government must come forward with a bold policy to halt further deterioration of the country's once glorious "golden fibre" industry, and put it back on die right track to recapture the lost world market for jute products as well as raw jute. But to make the forthcoming jute revival program successful, die government will have to free it from corruption in all respects. The people can only wait and see which way the wind blows.
A M M Shahabuddin is a retired UN official