By Hemanta Kumar Nath
Nagaon (Assam) [India], April 23 : Flagging concerns over duplicates flooding the market and being sold with impunity in neighbouring states, more than half of the population of Ranthali village in Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency, which is engaged in the manufacture of traditional jewellery, have demanded that the government crack down on fakes and safeguard their interests ahead of polling for the second phase on April 26.
Ranthali is the only village in BJP-ruled Assam that is majorly into the crafting of traditional jewellery. One-half of the village's population earns their bread from this craft.
Speaking to ANI, a local involved in this craft, said, "Almost the entire village is involved in this profession. Ours is the only village in the entire country where such pieces of jewellery are crafted. We design pure Assamese jewellery, which is native to Ranthali. The jewellery reflects our traditional craftsmanship. The base material for our ornaments is silver, on which we layer a range of stones. The stones are laid through casting. A layer of 24-carat gold is used on the jewellery pieces. Our ornaments also come with a historic value."
However, he said fakes, which are often hard to tell from the original pieces, have taken over markets, adding that the duplicates were manufactured in other states and also being pushed in from neighbouring China.
"Our jewellery pieces don't come with GI tags. We have been asking for it since 2013. Fake pieces that are flooding the markets and are made in neighbouring states, as well as China, are a major cause of worry for the goldsmiths here. As many as 500 people are engaged in this craft. Apart from safeguarding our interests, the new government at the Centre should also work towards developing Ranthali as a tourist destination. We need more development in this region and Assamese jewellery should be given the same importance as those in Rajasthan," he added.
Another local, who is also into designing traditional jewellery pieces, demanded that the government ban duplicate jewellery pieces from Kolkata and grant GT to the traditional pieces designed in Ranthali.
"Our ancestors were also involved in this work. We are doing well but have to offset losses incurred due to fakes from China and Kolkata flooding the market. The whole village is into jewellery designing. We demand that whoever forms the new government crack down on these fakes and get us a GI tag. Our youth are keen to take this art to other states as well," he told ANI.
The Lok Sabha elections in Assam are being conducted in three phases, with the first going off peacefully on April 19.
As many as 75.95 per cent of voters in the five parliamentary constituencies of Assam--Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga, Dibrugarh and Jorhat, came out to exercise their franchise in the first phase.
Polling for the second phase will be held for five more seats--Silchar, Karimganj, Diphu, Nagaon and Darrang-Udalguri.
Voting for Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Barpeta and Guwahati will be held on May 7, during the third and final phase of polling in the BJP-ruled state.