102-year-old Cricket bat industry in Kashmir stares into oblivion amid growing willow cleft shortage

The 102yearold cricket bat industry in Kashmir has upped its standards over the years to compete with manufacturers that work with the fabled English willow But bamakers fear a shortage of clefts might force closure of the Rs 300crore enterprise that provides livelihood to over 100000 peopleWe have been manufacturing cricket bats for the past 102 years The quality of our bats is good and approved by the International Cricket Council ICC So qualitywise we are not lacking We are at par with manufacturers that use English willow if not better Fawzul Kabir spokesperson for Cricket Bats Manufacturing Association of KashmirThis was evident from the fact that the longest six in the recent ICC Mens T20 World Cup in Australia was hit using a Kashmir willow bat Kabir told PTIAlso read Rahul Gandhi must come clear on grave mistakes committed by Congress in JampK BJPThe UAEs Junaid Siddique hit the 2022 ICC Mens T20 World Cups longest six against Sri Lanka using a bat manufactured by Anantnagbased GR8 SportsHowever the 400odd bat manufacturing units are staring at an uncertain future as they fear a shortage of willow clefts might force their factories to close within five yearsWillow produce is dwindling fast and we fear that it might become extinct within the next five years We have been requesting the government to go for a willow plantation drive to ensure a sustainable supply Kabir said pointing to the afforestation drives in Canada and Pakistan to underline his pointHe said more than one lakh people not only from Jammu and Kashmir but from Jalandhar in Punjab and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh relied on the industry for their livelihoodsIn a scenario where an industry is on the verge of collapse the government needs to work on a war footing he saidKabir said while the ShereKashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology provided them 1500 willow saplings last year for replacement each unit needs a supply of around 15000 clefts a yearAs cricket is growing fast the demand for bats will also increase We had a dozen countries playing cricket two decades ago Today that number has gone up to around 160Ten years ago 25 lakh to 3 lakh bats were manufactured in Kashmir These days 30 lakh bats are made every year he said adding that the industrys annual turnover was over Rs 300 croreKabir suggested that the government should consider allowing sapling plantations in the wetlands and on the riverbanks where willow trees used to be grown earlierIf willow trees are planted in these places again the bat industry can survive he saidGR8 Sports Production Manager Mohammad Niyaz said the government had taken steps for plantation of willow saplings but it was not at the scale required to support the industryMore and more cricket leagues are coming up around the world and the demand for bats is only going to increase While the industry can provide employment to artisans finished bats can keep youngsters involved in sports and away from evils such as drug abuse he addedAn Industries and Commerce department official said while there was no dearth of willow in Kashmir the main issue facing the units was a lack of modern seasoning technology and smuggling of clefts to factories outside KashmirIn Kashmir seasoning of clefts is still done in the traditional way and it can take anywhere between six months to a year It blocks precious capital of the unit holder and puts strain on his financial situation This has in some cases led to the closure of a unit the official who is not authorised to speak to the media said on the condition of anonymityThe official said a proposal to set up a seasoning plant was approved a few years ago but was shelved due to the outbreak of COVID19A new proposal to set up an electric or solar plant that will reduce the seasoning time to just 15 days is under consideration of senior officials he addedSteps had to be taken to curb cleft smuggling from the Valley to factories in other parts of country mainly in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh the official saidHe said land measuring 20 hectares had been earmarked to growing willow trees that have been developed by scientists at ShereKashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and TechnologyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever