Kakaya, Assam’s 2nd largest silk hub, grapples with post-Covid challenges

Chamata, May 27: The history of the textile industry in Assam is very old. It is mentioned in ancient literature, especially in the ‘Kiskindha’ part of the Ramayana, about ‘Koshakaranombhumi’, which is referred to as the land of cocoon rearers in ancient Kamrup.

Sualkuchi is known as a famous centre for silk textile weavers not only in Assam but in India as a whole. Similarly, Kakaya is also another silk weaving centre of Assam, which is located about 15 kilometres away from Nalbari town under the jurisdiction of the Belsor Police Station.

The area is known as the second-largest silk weaving centre in Assam. In Kakaya village and some neighbouring places, weaving of textile products like pat and muga sador-mekhela, phulam gamosa, etc., has been continuing formally from 1982, when this activity was started by a local resident named Harmohan Nath. Subsequently, former Assam Movement activist Madan Nath formally laid the foundation of another textile weaving centre and established Shreenath Resom Udyog at nearby Barnibari in 1988. Later, some educated youths formed two cooperative societies in Kakaya – Sankardev Bayan Samabai Samiti and Samannay Bayan Samabai Samiti. Then, some local residents established units such as Arati Silk Merchant, Jaymati Silk House, Mallika Silk Centre, and Labanya Resom Udyog in Kakaya and Matri Silk House at Barnibari, which served both as sale and production centres.

At the height of the silk weaving business before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were about 300 pat-muga weaving looms, including 170 gamosa-weaving looms, in the greater Kakaya area. More than 320 weavers and 50 assistants were engaged in the industry here. At that time, more than 12,000 pat-muga dresses and 1,70,000 gamosas were produced by the textile industry each year. These were sold through the local cooperative societies, silk cloth stores, and also individually.

Now, however, the local weavers use computer scanners to make their designs. These textile products are sold in districts such as Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Sonitpur, Sivasagar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nagaon, Kamrup (Metro), etc. These are also sold through ARTFED in other parts of the country, including Delhi. ARTFED purchases thousands of phulam gamosas every year from the Kakaya area.

A local businessman, Jitumani Deka, said that the weavers are facing a lot of problems after the COVID-19 pandemic, including shortage of skilled workers, decrease of sales, high cost of raw materials, and duplicate products supplied from other states. Before the pandemic, more than 500 families were engaged in this business directly or indirectly. Now, however, that number is decreasing rapidly. Many families have already quit this business. It is pertinent to mention in this context that the local weavers have not received any financial assistance from the sericulture department, as also from the State and Central governments.

Jitumani Deka has urged upon the Union Minister of State for Textiles, Pabitra Margherita, to visit the weaving cluster of Kakaya to take stock of the current scenario. Deka has also requested the Union Minister to grant a financial package to boost the weaving industry as quickly as possible. Deka averred that appropriate financial assistance from the government will help to revitalise this weaving industry.

- By Pradip Bhagawati