Kashmir Willow will become extinct in next 5 years !! Rs 100 Cr industry 75000 jobs at risk!!
#indiasportsindustry !! Urgent Attention !! Our attempt to bring your attention and if possible your energy towards this soon to be extinct "piece of pride". While cricket and IPL in particular is going through it's purple patch, this related industry is going through a bleak future. Yes, the future for this piece of wood from Kashmir our beloved Kashmir Willow Bats is facing extinction. Some relevant information.
History - From unconfirmed sources, britishers brought this willow with them to Kashmir, since they felt the climatic conditions were similar to english conditions. They were correct, the willow grew and soon gave birth to what we today know as "Kashmir Willow".
English Willow and Kashmir Willow - Though the pandits rate English willow better than Kashmir willow, the pro and cons weigh equally on both sides since their DNA is almost the same.
Current condition -Changes in political and societal dynamics of Jammu and Kashmir have coincided with a rapid decline in the growth of Kashmir willow.
>> In the willow-growing areas, the inferior quality poplar is replacing the Kashmir willow tree, which takes much longer to mature—15 to 20 years compared to less than 10 years a poplar takes to be ripe and ready to cut.
>> Besides, lack of infrastructure; absence of technical know-how that increases the cost of bats; smuggling of clefts—blocks of wood dried in the sun for up to six months—from Kashmir have led to decline.
>> 2014 floods have also dealt a telling blow to the bat-making business.
>> More trees are being cut and less being planted. 10 years ago, 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh bats were manufactured in Kashmir. These days, 30 lakh bats are made every year.
>> Disease control is not upto mark making this wood unusable in lot of cases.
>> Attempts are being made at state level but nothing to the scale that is actually required.
What's needed? The list is long but few are topmost priorities
>> Some authority like BCCI, state govt, central govt, agriculture dept needs to take this up as an urgent priority long term agenda.
>> Raise awareness towards reforestation, diseases control, protecting natural habitat.
>> Engage relevant expert towards R&D to maintain current standards and grow better quality wood for future.
>> Help local manufacturing industry will better access to domestic and foreign markets.
Hopefully, the industry will get it's due attention urgently and steps will be taken to restore this "piece of pride" #sportsindustry#business#growth#future#help#energy#quality#manufacturing#like#infrastructure#agriculture#markets#ipl2023
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