Hair processing trade centres have changed lives of 12,000 people living by the Indo-Bangladesh border at Karpashdanga union under Damurhuda upazila of Chuadanga district.
According to sources, these people earlier were involved with smuggling across the border but now they are able to maintain their families by working at the centres.
Fifteen years ago, there was only one centre in a village. Now the number has shot up to 50 in several villages of the union.
Vendors are collecting discarded hair of women in exchange of ice-cream, chips, nut and other things from Dhaka, Bagerhat, Khulna, Comilla, Gazipur and many other areas of the country and sell it to these centres. Later, the hair is processed for export.
The processed hair is exported mainly to China, Hong-Kong, Thailand, Korea and Myanmar.
The hair processing enterprises have also entered making wigs and special type of dresses and exporting the products to different countries.
Arif, a worker at a hair processing factory said: “Everyday I earn Tk400 by processing one kilogram of hair.”
Fatema Begum, another hair processing worker said: “Women of all ages have engaged themselves in this profession with a view to making the families solvent financially.”
Mostak Ahmed, secretary of Bangladesh Hair Processing Factory said: “A large number of people in this area were involved in smuggling but they have changed their fate by working at these factories.”
Shahid Biswas, president of Bangladesh Hair Processing Samity said: “About 80 percent workers in this profession are women.”
He also said: “We buy discarded hair at Tk2,400 to Tk2,500 per kg and sell it at the rate of Tk5,000. The export value is much higher than this; only 100 grams of the processed hair brings Tk25,000 to Tk30,000.”
Shafiq Ahmed, owner of a factory said: “We get no bank loan. We started the business by taking loan from NGOs. But it would have been much better for this new business if the government would have helped us with bank loan on easy terms.”
Recently Ali Azgar Togor, Member of Parliament, Chuadanga 2, Solaiman Haque Joarder, Member of Parliament, Chuadanga 1, and BGB Commander Lieutenant SM Muniruzzaman visited the area.