The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rajshahi

Speakers at a meeting here on Thursday called for reopening the closed Rajshahi Silk Factory for creating employment opportunities along with revitalizing the traditional silk sector.

The grassroots mulberry and sericulture farmers, they added, would be happy to go back to their ancestral profession if the factory are reopened.

They said Rajshahi Silk Factory could be operational through utilizing its existing machinery and other valuable resources along with an investment of around Taka 10 crore.

Bangladesh Silk Board (BSB) organized the meeting at the conference hall of the factory on the occasion of a visit of a three-member parliamentary sub-committee to the factory.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Textiles and Jute Ministry formed a four-member sub-committee to devise ways and means on how to reopen the closed Rajshahi and Thakurgaon silk factories as early as possible.

Committee convener Abdul Wadud, MP, and members Shafiqul Islam, MP, and Mollah Jalal Uddin, MP, addressed the meeting.

Mayor of Rajshahi AHM Khairuzzaman Liton and Shahriar Alam, MP, addressed it as the guests of honour.

Among others, BSB Chairman Sunil Chandra Paul and its chief production officer Mortoza Reza and silk industrialists Monzur Faruque Chowdhury, Golam Kadir and Merajul Alam also spoke.

The speakers placed emphasis on running the factories using domestic yarn. So, steps should be taken to raise domestic production of yarn, they added.

They said the country produces only 50 tonnes of yarn against the annual demand of 300 tonnes.

Earlier, the sub-committee members went round different sections of the factory and talked to its officials and employees.

Speaking on the occasion, Mayor Liton favoured bringing the factory under the public-private partnership programme and reopening it for the sake of proper utilization of its existing machinery along with creation of jobs.

Taking part in the discussion, private silk industrialists also favoured reopening of the factory and assured of all sorts of cooperation.

Later, the lawmakers visited mulberry seed and miniflature centres under BSB at Meerganj in Charghat upazila.