Jute mills
Last Saturday I visited my octogenarian uncle, Mr. K. Ahsan -- who worked in the recently closed People's Jute Mills (Khalishpur) during 1955-1957 and was associated with the jute business for about a decade. He is now living a retired life in London. I showed him some newspaper clippings on the closure of jute mills and miserable condition of thousands of workers, their families and small traders of that area. He has a good memory and narrated several events of those days. The (750-loom) mill was owned by the (late) Prince Aga Khan (and two other partners - diamond merchants Mr. Lakha and Mr. Gangi) and remembers their visit (separately) during that time. Mr. T. H. (Torab Hussain) Vimani was an efficient managing director. Many skilled workers - mostly people who during pre-partition days worked in the jute mills around Calcutta (West Bengal) - migrated to East Pakistan and joined the mills. The overall atmosphere was peaceful. The nearby Platinum Jute Mills was just started. He remembers his good friends/ colleagues (S, H, R, etc.) and spending the weekends in Khulna. He requested me if I could convey his deep sorrow and dua to the affected workers, traders and their families. Also, I couldn't answer his two queries: (1) Whether in this 'eco-friendly age' the government wants to completely whip out this crop from the country. (2) Whether we are going back to the pre-partition days when 99% of world jute was produced in East Bengal but all the jute mills were situated in West Bengal!
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