After the introduction of new technology and high-tech looms funded by the World Bank, silk fabric production at Kashmir’s government-run 85-year-old Rajbagh Silk Factory has increased eightfold in the past one year.
The production of silk cloth at the factory, on the banks of the Jhelum river in Srinagar, has been decreasing owing to aging workers and old machines. The floods of September 2014, which sent vast swathes of Srinagar underwater, severely damaged the traditional looms of the factory making it defunct for many months.
Post floods, the factory again started production but the output was reduced to a minuscule owing to the damaged machines prompting the World Bank to include it in part of its Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP). The project was aimed at maintaining the livelihood of people affected by the floods and also the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s heritage buildings.
“All our machines, including twisting machines, warping machines and looms were damaged in floods which resulted in a decrease in production. Though the factory was closed for production for a few months only, capacity decreased drastically to 1,000-1,500 metres per month when it opened again after the floods. Instead of 38 varieties, we were able to produce only eight varieties,” said Zameer Syed Ilahi, manager of the silk factory.
However, after the introduction of new machines, including 40 sophisticated looms funded by the World Bank in August 2021, production has increased manifold.
“Presently we are able to weave 10,000-12,000 meters of silk cloth in a month working in a single shift which means our capacity increased to produce 1.5 lakh meters annually. From the past one year, we are able to produce 23 varieties of silk cloth from the earlier eight varieties,” he said.
“All these are automatic machines which have enhanced our quantity as well as quality,” he said.
Established in 1937 at Srinagar’s posh Rajbagh area on the banks of river Jhelum, the factory was Srinagar’s first silk weaving centre (and second silk-related infrastructure) after the Valley’s first silk yarn reeling filature was started at nearby Solina in 1897 under the patronage of British. By 1961-62, the annual production of silk in the state stood at around 98,000 kg. During the second World War, the silk fabric for parachutes was exported from Kashmir.
With an aging workforce and decreasing demand, the decline in silk production came in the late 1980s and with the eruption of militancy by the 1990s, the silk reeling and weaving factories became obsolete as the state machinery struggled to contain violence than working on development.
The officials said that production at the factory after the World Bank intervention can now increase further if a second shift is also introduced. “There is a possibility that we can go up to 24,000 meters per month but that depends on demand,” Ilahi said.
That is why the authorities are aiming to capitalise on Kashmir’s historical association with silk which dates back hundreds of years. The Jammu and Kashmir administration is now working on the branding of Kashmir silk. They have tied up with online selling giants like Flipkart and Reliance to build the valley’s silk brand.
“Besides Flipkart and Reliance, we had tried to tie up with Amazon which has not yet happened,” he said.
Not long ago, Jammu and Kashmir has been producing one of the finest silk qualities in the world with high-end varieties like ‘lotus’, ‘iris’, ‘tulip’, and ‘neel’.
Ilahi said that they are trying to produce some fresh varieties. “Of the 23 varieties, new varieties are chinon, champion, crepe, hagoti and their special varieties,” he said.
“We have a monopoly on the quality of silk fabric in Kashmir. One won’t get this quality of silk anywhere here,” he said.
“We can either go for printing of the fabric or embroidery. We provide the work to the clusters of artisans associated with us. So we get raw silk from the cocoon rearers, produce fabric here and then send the cloth from the factory to artisans for value addition, helping many people with their livelihood in the process,” he said.
When the factory was started in 1937 by Maharaja Hari Singh, the factory had 120 looms with a production capacity of 20,000 meters per month producing 38 varieties of silk.
Ilahi said that in the next three years around 50 % of their 110 workers and staff are retiring. They are trying to get people indirectly by providing them training in the factory to compensate for the dwindling workforce.
