Photo : BSS

By Harun-Or-Rashid Khan Hasan

SIRAJGANJ, Oct 19, 2025 (BSS)- The woven gamchha (bathing cotton towels) 
industry of Sirajganj holds a legacy of more than three centuries and bagged 
global fame for its type and design. 

Once the handloom gamchha industry of this locality was the driving force of 
the local economy.

From dawn to dusk, once, most of the villages of this district had been 
buzzed with the sound of the handloom machineries.

With the rapid evolve and appearances of the electricity driven garment 
industries, the handloom industry is now facing multifocal challenges. The 
handloom weavers are now struggling to earn their livelihood and protect the 
century-long heritage that they taught from their ancestors.

Speaking to BSS, the weavers said they have been accustomed with this 
profession since decades and the handloom industry is not only a way of their 
livelihood earning but also their traditional and cultural identity and as a 
result there are specialized markets for handloom gamchhas which 
buy fame for the Sirajganj too.

Rafiqul Islam, a resident of Pachila village under Ullapara upazila who is 
also a weaver in profession, expressed the struggle and challenges of the 
profession while talking to BSS. 

He said, "A weaver knits 8 to 10 towels a day but earns only Taka 120 in 
exchange. This amount is too little to bear the basic needs of a family."

"We now do not have any alternative option where we could switch our 
profession and this is why we are continuing the handloom profession," 
Rafiqul added.

Mamunur Rahman, a wholesale woven gamchha businessman at Belkhuchi, said he 
has been selling woven gamchhas across the country for 20 years. "The 
marginal profit is gradually climbing down and we are having difficulties to 
meet the production costs," he added.

To protect the traditional handloom, the weavers now expect assistance from 
the government.

Mohammad Selim, another handloom gamchha businessman, said government 
initiatives like allowing handloom weavers to have bank loan with minimum 
interest rate, arrange workshops and training on new technologies and monitor 
the market prices of yarn and color on a regular basis may help revive the 
industry again.

"Such government initiatives could bring back the buzzing sounds of handloom 
machineries again in the localities of Sirajganj," he added.

Noting the initiatives taken by Sirajganj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 
Saidur Rahman Bacchu, president of the organisation, said," Sirajganj is rich 
in the heritage of the handloom industry. Despite numerous challenges, local 
weavers have kept this traditional craft alive."
 
"If the prices of raw materials can be kept under control, the industry has 
the potential to regain its former glory," he added.

"The demand for handloom gamchhas has risen significantly, not only within 
the country but also in international markets," he continued.

"We are providing all possible support to the weavers. With government 
assistance, the bathing cotton towel industry in the district can flourish 
once again," Bacchu noted.

Amid both financial struggle and price hike of necessary goods, the handloom 
weavers are now eyeing for government assistance to come forward and revive 
the history of traditional handloom industry.