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Journalism of Courage
IT8217;S a curious sight in a state that counts casualties of militancy everyday: face up in the winter sun, along rows of backyards that run like a line along wooden houses, crudely fashioned willow clefts, missing all but a handle to be turned into cricket bats. In its finest days, the Kashmir willow was no less than its ivory English counter but now, it8217;s playing out what might be its last inning.
The state government has done little to organise the industry despite the recognition worldwide for the Valley8217;s willow cleft. Promises of a processing unit have been made since Independence but nothing has materialised so far. Close to two decades of militancy all but sealed the business and now, the last of the players are ready to wind up.
The only state-owned unit at Miran Sahib on the outskirts of Jammu, the Kashmir Willow, shut down nearly four years ago, sending a signal of sorts to private entrepreneurs.
Former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had announced a grand plan, at Rs 5.72 crore, for reviving the industry 8211; a cluster complex at Sether in Kashmir to bring together the private entrepreneurs and channelise business by ensuring showrooms, communication facilities and business counters. The foundation was laid and work begun. Last heard, the project overran its July 2005 deadline and is likely to do so this November too.
State sports minister Babu Singh is still aiming for a clean sweep. 8220;We know that the Kashmir willow industry is passing through a bad phase. The problems of the industry will soon be examined by a committee, and the issues will be included in the new sports policy that I will announce soon,8221; he says.
The industry, however, says it needs more than assurances. 8220;Although manufacturers have met the ministers and authorities concerned several times, they do not bother to talk about incentives for reviving this sick industry,8221; says Ajay Mahajan, general secretary, Sports Goods Manufacturing Association.
8220;The willow cleft industry in Jammu and Kashmir has given a lot not only to the state and the country but also to the world. The bats made of Kashmir willow have been used by top international cricketers in the yester years but now its very survival is at stake,8221; says Gurjeet Singh, a willow cleft dealer and proprietor of Gurjeet Sports Industries GSI, Miran Sahib. That besides some 50,000 workers who have been rendered jobless with the shutting down of the units.
Ranjit Kalra, senior vice-president of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Players8217; Association believes the government has only been reading the pitch for too long. 8220;Although it was gratifying to hear that some initiatives including setting up of a seasoning plant for the bats, were taken, the government has adopted a dilly-dallying approach in the matter. It is high time the Kashmir willow industry was revived by the government and restored to its heyday.8221;
