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Where Shells Spin Money

Soroor Ahmed in Mehsi, Bihar

There is no push-button formula to industrialise agrarian north Bihar. But there are oases of hope. That is the broad consensus among the state administrators.

One such 'oasis' is Mehsi, a small township in East Champaran district. With 356 shell button and ornament units, Mehsi commands a pride of a place on the map of Indian cottage industries.

However, in recent times, Mehsi has landed in trouble. The slump in the national and international markets has led to suspension of production at 250 units. Manufacturers keep their fingers crossed and hope that things would change for the better.

There was a time when things were fine. Mehsi's industrial story began almost a century ago. Rai Bhulawan Lal set the ball rolling when he brought in a manual button-making machine from Japan in 1905.

Rai Bhulawan Lal not only brought the machine but also the idea of making buttons from snail's shells. Lal's descendants have kept alive the family business and run the Tirhut Moon Button Factory.

Over the years, the activity has spread over two dozen villages in and around Mehsi. Some 10,000 workers -- men, women, children -- are in the business of buttons.

The Budhi Gandak river which courses through the Mehsi belt, is rich in shells, and facilitated the growth of this industry. Besides, shells are brought from Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. According to M A Ansari, owner of M A Ansari Handicraft, there are 4,000 types of shells found in rivers and oceans.

Mehsi's colourful buttons are now the preferred choice of tailors and garment-makers.

The industry is powered by labourers -- often they are children and women -- who toil through the day and earn meagre wages. On an average, a labourer is paid Rs 25 (or less than half-a-dollar) for cutting 1,000 buttons. Womenfolk and young girls double up as labourers after sunset.

However, the advent of inexpensive plastic buttons poses a threat to shell button units.

Some of Mehsi's shell button makers are now trying their hand at making shell ornaments like rings, ear-rings, hair-clips, necklaces, glass-frames, belts, etc.

According to Amar Swarna, who runs a non-government organisation called the Samajik Shodh Evam Vikas Kendra, ever since the trend of making shell ornaments began, demand for these items grew in India and abroad.

Automation made the ornament industry both labour- and capital-intensive. Earlier, when manual machines were in use, child labour was negligible. Automation now makes bulk production possible. This has expanded the business. From a place where workers cut, shaped and drilled holes in buttons, Mehsi has become an industrial estate where workers produce exquisite ornaments in bulk.

Earlier, one manual machine needed one worker. Now a modern machine needs about 20 workers. According to a survey, about 1,000 children are working in these cottage units.

Social workers have been critical of excessive employment of child labour and the poor environment at workplaces. The manufacturing units are usually dingy, poorly-lit, thatched verandahs. The machines spew dangerous, silicosis-causing dust particles.

But not everyone is scared. "Look, I was born here and have been working since my childhood, but nothing has happened to me," says Gaya Prasad, owner of a manufacturing unit.

But owners of units have their own tales to tell. They admit they lack marketing skills and are at the mercy of traders and exporters.

Lack of encouragement from government and other agencies, and little media exposure, has prevented further growth of the shell button and ornament, say the locals.

The township is by a national highway and has direct railroad links with Calcutta and Delhi. The absence of local entrepreneurs in the transportation and export businesses has also not helped.

Several manufacturers say what they need is not financial assistance but supportive policies as against imposition of sales tax when sales are stagnant.

Business

Bihar