Pre-independence era roof tile units in 'deathbed'

After World War I, there was high demand for roofing tiles from the British colonial rulers of India for their barracks, new offices, bungalows and rest houses for army officials and civil service staff. Gauging the potential, Sitaram, an entrepreneurs, and Rudha Ladha, a Railway contractor, entered into the business of making roofing tiles in this small village. It was the best location since it falls on Hawrah-Bombay line and nearby Satpura forests were in close proximity that could feed the industry with raw material – soft iron-rich yellow clay.

Sitaram & Sons established his roofing tiles unit in 1903, and was followed by Ruda Ladha who migrated to this small village from Kutch (Gujrat). In a short span they were established roofing tiles brand across the country. Later, seven other entrepreneurs followed them, putting this small village on Indian industrial map.

 

Their entrepreneurship flourished in this small village from 1920s for the next 60 years and generated employment in a radius of five kilometres to nearly 5,000 families of Bagra and nearby villages who otherwise had no jobs.

By 1980, the Union government introduced Indian Forest Act and put a blanket ban on excavation of yellow clay from Satpura range of forests. The decision sealed the fate of these units. The industry started limping, resulting in the closure of almost all units in Bagra within two years. The government ceased all mining leases and discontinued fresh issuance of lease.

Girish Chawra, a descendent of the pioneer Ruda Ladha, is probably the last entrepreneur who runs his unit on demand basis though carrying a different brand name. To make prudence, when government lifted the ban in 1991-92 for a short period of one year, he stored raw material obtained from the forests. Since then, governments at the Centre and the state have turned a Neilson’s eye at this industry which is seasonal in nature. It seems to breathing its last.

“Sitaram & Sons shut their shops years ago. None knows what happened to other units,” says Chimanlal Pragji Chawra, who has no hopes of revival of this industry of bygone era. “I run my unit to cater to stray demands since it is a legacy, my family business. But we do not have hopes; we cannot run our unit like those older days.”

Earlier, too, this small-scale sector suffered adversely due to heavy taxation. After several representations to the Centre and the state government by various industrial associations, the government pared taxes on clay made roofing tiles. But none talks of lifting ban on excavation of clay from forests.

“We have made several representations during the past 20 years to the state government officials and forest officials to avail nothing,” Chawra fumes. Department of Industry officials remain non-committal on the issue to Business Standard.

It is not only the short-supply of raw material but shortage and costly fuel, and interrupted power supply, labour migration are making the situation grim.

To bake raw tiles, high temperature is required; since the village has no other source of energy, tile making units are forced to use the sub-standard coal, saw-dust which affects the quality and increases cost of production.

“The production cost has doubled since the last few years due to rising fuel cost. We cannot handle interrupted but costly power supply. We are not treated as other small-scale units since officials have put it under less-privileged rural industry. We also face labour shortage as we cannot provide them regular jobs now,” said another tile manufacturing unit in Bagra.

In earlier days, any roofing tile manufacturing SSI unit produces 50-60 lakh tiles (15,000-20,000 tiles per day) in every season. Now the production has come down to hardly 2,000-5,000 tiles on one-off job basis. Almost half of the population of the village has migrated to nearby areas that offer jobs in real-estate industry. Those who are left survive as casual labourers. The village already bears a ghostly look, though it has no shortage of water and transportation. If immediate steps are not taken, not only this age-old industry will soon fade into oblivion but this small village Bagra will also be another missing town of colonial history.