Bird flu scare revives Jalandhar shuttlecock units

Though the ban on the import of Chinese shuttlecocks due to the bird flu scare might have resulted in the cancellation of the National Badminton Championship, scheduled to be held in Goa, it has proved a blessing for the indigenous shuttlecock units, which were on the verge of closure due to competition from Chinese shuttlecocks.

The shuttlecock units of the city, which had migrated from Sialkot after independence, had provided employment to a lot of families since then and the highly skilled labour involved in shuttlecock manufacturing in the city earned fame.

But with Chinese shuttlecocks beginning to be imported, the units suffered a major setback and more than half of the 300-400 small, medium and large-scale units closed.

But with the government of India banning the import of the Chinese shuttles due to the bird flu scare, their fortunes have revived.

Dhiraj Jagdish Sharma, manufacturer of the famous "Guide" brand of shuttlecocks, said the decision of the government had come as a major relief.

He said due to this ban the demand for indigenous shuttlecocks in the market had increased up to 25 per cent. Due to the import of Chinese shuttlecocks, the indigenous industry was facing a serious crisis and the production of their units was only 20-25 per cent of their capacity, adding that now they were running at full capacity.

But, at the same time he said that due to the bird flu scare, feathers of ducks and hens used for manufacturing shuttlecocks were not coming from Bangladesh and China, and this was hampering their work.

Sharma also said that the bird flu scare was a temporary phase, and the government should make permanent arrangements for the protection of the industry.

He suggested that the government should allow limited import of Chinese shuttlecocks because they were used in competitions only.

Surjan Singh, another shuttlecock manufacturer, demanded special attention from the government to save the industry. He said that as the rate of prices of raw materials was increasing, so did the prices of shuttlecocks.