The under construction ‘Sheikh Hasina Tant Palli’ (handloom village) is going to open a new era in the handloom industries through job opportunities, industrial production and trade.
On 120 acres of land, the ‘Sheikh Hasina Tant Palli’ is being constructed on the bank of the River Padma under Shibchar upazila in Madaripur, on the southern end of the newly opened Padma Multipurpose Bridge.
Officials of the Bangladesh Handloom Board (BHB) said that the BHB's vision is to revive the dwindling weaving industry with the Sheikh Hasina Tantpalli (Sheikh Hasina Handloom Village) in Madaripur.
They said that the project was taken by the BHB to improve the livelihood of economically poor weavers in the country, as envisioned by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Gazi Md Rezaul Karim, a member (Planning & Implementation) of the BHB, said that according to the handloom census of BHB in 2017, the number of handlooms stood at 343,085 with 610,903 weavers.
The handloom census 2018 has been in progress. As the handloom sector is facing stiff competition to survive in the open market, the sector needs modernization. According to a survey of BHB in 2017, a total of 129,815 handlooms remained closed.
The handloom sector produces 68 crore metres of fabrics, which meet 40% of local apparel demands.
While visiting the project on Thursday, Textile and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi said that the Ministry of Textiles and Jute is setting up ‘Sheikh Hasina Tant palli’ in Shibchar Upazila of Madaripur district to create opportunities for self-employment in the south-western region.
Under this project, weavers will be provided with all kinds of facilities including residential buildings, handloom shed, dormitories, rest house, cyber cafes and power substations.
There are plans to set up a ‘Tant Haat’ two days a week at Tant palli where all kinds of raw materials including yarn will be sold and displayed.
“Everything from weaving cloth to making and selling garments will be arranged here,” said the minister.
The minister also hoped that this project will revive the tradition of the handloom industry.
He also visited the construction work of ‘Sheikh Hasina Textile Engineering College’ under Textiles Department in the upazila.
