Palpali Dhaka losing market to cheaper Indian products
By Madhav Aryal

PALPA, May 6: Nobody could be more distressed than the manufacturers of Palpali dhaka cloth, whose market is heading for a nose-dive these days owing to the domination of Nepali market by Indian products.

Having a glorious 44-year history though, this highly regarded handicraft industry of Palpa finds it difficult nowadays to compete with the cheap product from India’s Gorakhpur and Sunauli.

According to the dhaka manufacturers, the domestic industry is facing problem due to the influx of Indian dhaka, which being manufactured by handloom machines, is comparatively cheaper. The Palpali dhaka, on the other hand is purely hand-made and hence more expensive.

More than two hundred Indian traders are involved in manufacturing handloom-dhaka in Gorakhpur and Sunaluli, according to the Nepali entrepreneurs. Their export to Nepali market is a very distressing fact to both the existing entrepreneurs and the aspiring ones.

"The cheaper Indian products have begun to displace our products from the domestic market," said Ganesh Man Maharjan, a pioneer producer of Palpali dhaka. "We cannot compete with the Indian products unless the government adopts policies to promote the domestic industry."

"If the government wants our industry to survive, it should impose high tax on the import of dhaka clothes from India," Maharjan demanded. "Further, it should lift the taxes on the import of thread from India, which is needed for the manufacturing purpose."

"The government should adopt correct policies if it wants to promote this highly regarded handicraft industry," he said. "Also, the cloth should be made compulsory in government offices and schools."

A handicraft trademark of Palpa district the dhaka cloth industry provides direct and indirect employment to over 5,000 people in Palpa at present. Palpali Dhaka Cloth Industry, Poudel Dhaka, Saraswati Dhaka, Karki Dhaka, Mahesh Dhaka, Shrestha Dhaka and Purnima Dhaka are some of the major dhaka industries in the district.

Initially, dhaka clothes were imported from Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, hence named dhaka. It was Maharjan who learnt the technique of making dhaka and started manufacturing in Nepal. In the beginning, it used to be produced from cotton thread, but from 2043 BS onwards artificial thread is used in producing dhaka items.