Demand to marketing eco-friendly Sonali Bag
Six years ago, Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) Scientific Advisor, Mubarak Ahmad Khan, created a response across the country by inventing Sonali Bags as an alternative to polythene.
However, even after all these years of invention, the golden bag has not yet been commercially launched. According to Businessmen, the authority must disclose the invention’s formula to commercialize the golden bag of possibilities. At the same time, the cost of production of Sonali Bags should also reduce.
Businesspersons commented on these things in a meeting organized in the Cabinet Room at the Secretariat. The cabinet department called the meeting to find out why it could not use the Sonali Bag commercially even after six years of its invention and the problems, including the potential of this bag.
Khandaker Anwarul Islam, Cabinet Secretary, presided over the meeting and Several government secretaries and representatives of various organizations, including BGMEA , BTMA , and Bangladesh Jute Association, were present. BJMC Scientific Advisor Mubarak Ahmed Khan presented the keynote paper at the meeting.
BJMC claimed a pilot project took up in 2018 at the cost of 100 million to market the Sonali Bag. Latif Bawani Jute Factory has established a unit on the west bank of the Shitalakshya River in Demra of the capital to make Sonali Bags.
Fifteen thousand golden bags make there every day. Each bag is selling at Tk.10 from the BJMC office in Motijheel, Dhaka.
Several businesspersons at the meeting said that the formula of Mubarak Ahmed Khan, the inventor of the Sonali Bag, should disclose before them. Only he knows this formula.
Nevertheless, he is not telling anyone else. If necessary, he can patent it in his name so that no one else can carry out his invention in his name.
It should also tell where the latest equipment to manufacture this product can find. At the same time, the government should provide loans at low interest to import modern machinery.
The meeting discussed reducing the production cost of Sonali Bag s. Speakers said that now each bag costs about BDT.10 to produce. On the other hand, polythene is provided free of charge in the market or the market. The cost of the bag should bring within BDT.3.
When asked, Abul Hossain, President of BJMC, said that the use of polythene is increasing so much that rivers and canals are filling up.
To stop the use of polythene, we need to market eco-friendly golden bags. We also need to reduce the cost. Apart from that, this innovation should expose to the traders. Only then will its commercial use expand.
Mubarak Ahmed Khan said about informing the traders about the invention of Sonali Bags from jute, “I have no objection to giving it. However, some research remains to be done. Reducing the cost of producing bags requires importing more machinery. A project has to undertake for this.”
He also said, “I have proposed to take a separate project for importing machinery in the meeting. The government has agreed to finance the project from the Climate Fund, the Annual Development Program, or ADP.”
Two machines are now producing golden bags at the state-owned Latif Bawani Jute Mills in Demra. Currently, there is a production capacity of 15 thousand bags per day.
However, the demand for the bag is almost three times the production capacity. In the meeting, traders decided soon to visit Latif Bawani Jute Mill to see how golden bags are made.
BJMC officials reported that no company in the world makes the machinery required to produce this eco-friendly bag on a large scale. China, Germany, and some manufacturers of machinery and parts in the United States have said that they can make the machine if they give a request letter.
When asked, Abdur Rauf, Secretary of Textile and Jute, said, “Another project would take to buy modern machinery. Then it will be known how much money will spend on each golden bag. Apart from that, the cost will also reduce if production starts on a large scale.”
