Pathankot all set to be silk farming hub

Rs3.6-cr pilot project to kick off in 5 villages of Dhar block

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Mulberry plantation in focus

As many as 37,500 saplings of mulberry will be planted in the villages of Durang Khad, Phangtoli, Bhadan, Jungath and Bhabhar of Dhar block. This will infuse new life into silk farming.

Sanjeev Tiwari, conservator (north circle) hoshiarpur

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, August 5

Dhar block of this district is all set to become a sericulture hub with the Forest Department and the Central Silk Board (CSB) joining hands to initiate a project wherein forest officials have earmarked five villages where silk farming will commence in a big way.

Sericulture is an agro-based cottage industry that rears silkworms for silk manufacturing. The process of sericulture involves cultivation of mulberry trees as a feed to caterpillars.

Sanjeev Tiwari, Conservator (North circle) Hoshiarpur, under whose ambit the project falls, said the total cost came to around Rs 3.6 crore. The venture got the green signal from the CSB, Bengaluru, Ministry of Textile, on July 26.

“As many as 37,500 saplings of mulberry will be planted in the villages of Durang Khad, Phangtoli, Bhadan, Jungath and Bhabhar of Dhar block. This will infuse new life into silk farming. Earlier what proved to be a hindrance in silk cultivation was the poor quality of the mulberry leaf. Now this will no longer be the case,” said Tiwari.

VB Kumar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Punjab, said this was a pilot project. “We intend to bring under mulberry cultivation vast areas of Northern India where forest land will be integrated with sericulture activities. This will also pave the way for farmers to have an additional income. In Dhar, we will create village forest committees. These will work in tandem with self-help groups. We are also working on bringing in digital technology into sericulture,” he said.

Farmers claimed this type of farming would help them diversify from the wheat-paddy cycle.

“In India, the love for silk fabric is eternal. Right from ancient times, and even in the future, we need to acknowledge the fact that silk manufacturing is a flourishing business. This, in effect, means growing of mulberry trees, too, is a profitable business as it is the primary condition for producing silk,” Dinesh Singh, a Dhar based agriculturist.

Tiwari maintained that due to technological advancements, sericulture can also be carried out as a large-scale business activity. “Silk production has increased employment opportunities among women. The gestation period is low but profits are on the higher side. Once the Dhar project starts working, we will expand it to other areas as well,” he said.