New silk wool products catch market’s fancy

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, January 6

The state government has initiated measures for the revival of the only silk mill in the state, one of the oldest heritage mills situated at Bodh in Nurpur.

After passing through many ups and downs for the past 50 years, this unit of the state General Industrial Corporation (GIC) is all set to revive its old glory by giving a new look to its products and campaigning aggressively.

In order to make it a profit-earning unit and boosting the economy of the locals, the Nurpur Silk Mill, which had once given the town the name Resham Nagar, has started producing silk wool products this year. It has manufactured merino wool mixed silk shawls weighing only 150 gram and jackets weighing 200 to 300 gram.

It has also produced normal and merino wool mixed light weight kurtas and designer digital print sarees in the market. These new products of the unit have caught the fancy of buyers. The GIC had recently organised an exhibition of silk products of Nurpur Silk Mill at the handicraft fair at Pragati Madan in Delhi after a gap of seven years and now the same exhibition is going on in the Manali Winter Carnival.

It was in 1963 when the Government of Punjab established the unit at Nurpur and intended to make it the silk centre of the entire northern region. On June 9, 1964, it started silk yarn manufacturing. In November 1969, it came under the control of the Himachal Pradesh Mineral and Industrial Development Corporation. After the formation of Himachal Pradesh state, carpet manufacturing unit was merged with it. In 1988, the state GIC took over this unit but suffered losses and its silk reeling unit was closed in 2000.

To compete with the market trends, the Nurpur Silk Mill is being projected aggressively not only in Himachal Pradesh, but also in neighbouring states.

Lokesh Mahajan, manager of the silk mill, said a facebook page had been launched for displaying its silk products in social media.

Meanwhile, Rajinder Singh, Managing Director of the state industrial corporation, Shimla, asserted that all efforts were being made to make Nurpur Silk Mill a profit earning unit and its products were catching fancy in the market.