SCARF MADE OF FRUIT FIBRE TO BE GIFTED TO MODI AT JALPAIGURI RALLY TODAY Slice of sartorial pineapple for PM to cherish

TT, Siliguri: A pineapple hub near Siliguri will offer Narendra Modi a unique souvenir when he addresses a rally on Friday -- an uttariya (ceremonial scarf) made of the fruit's leaves.

The gift is rooted in a novel initiative by a group of women pineapple growers in Bidhannagar who have been making clothes and more from the fibre of pineapple leaves. Bidhannagar, 40km from Siliguri in Darjeeling district, is known in the state and across the country for its pineapples.

The 42 women went through training at the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) in March 2018, with the assistance of the National Institute of Research on Jute & Allied Fibre Technology, to produce various kinds of materials from pineap- ple leaves. "The women have been trained to make clothes, ornaments and bags with pineapple fibre. They want to explore the option of additional earnings from pineapples. They have achieved success and on Friday, when the Prime Minister will be in Maynaguri (Jalpaiguri), we will present him an uttariya made of the fibre," said Arun Mondal, secretary, Uttarbanga Anaras Chashi Sangathan.

In Bidhannagar and adjoining of North Dinajpur, there are more than 6,000 growers who produce around five lakh tonnes of the fruit in a year.

The farmers have reeled off a wish list. "We want the pineapple development centre established in Bidhannagar on a 17-acre plot in 2010 to open immediately. There are 96 stalls, meant to be allotted to growers, and a cold storage with a capacity of 16 tonnes. But all these are non-functional. The Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development Authority should take initiative to open the facility. It can help pineapple cultivators," said Mondal.

The women formed a society -- Bidhannagar Pineapple Leaf Fibre Processing Industrial Cooperative Society -- in March last year to produce and market their products.

"We have not yet started commercial sale of our products. As of now, we are exhibiting the products and received appreciation from different quarters. In due course, we will start selling the products made of pineapple leave-fibre. We will also consult experts at NIRJAFT (the jute and fibre institute)," Pampa Pal Mondal, secretary of the society, said..