India's Cricket Bat Business in Danger
2022-12-19
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1The best cricket bats in the world are made in England and India from willow trees.
2A bat is the long stick cricket players use to hit the ball.
3The bats from India are in especially high demand.
4That is because they are much less costly than the English bats.
5Bats from India cost between $50 and $500, while the ones made in England cost three to four times more.
6The bat factories are in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir and they employ about 100,000 people.
7The area makes about 3 million bats each year.
8The factories have customers in 125 countries.
9The cricket bat business brings in about $12 million to the Indian economy.
10The Kashmir bats make up about 70 percent of the world market because of their lower cost.
11Many of the area's factories, however, have closed because of a serious lack of willow trees.
12As Indian-made bats became more popular around the world, more and more willow trees were cut down.
13New willow trees were not planted to replace them.
14Wood farmers chose to grow different kinds of wood that grow more quickly than willow trees.
15Mohammad Shafi Dar is 55 years old.
16He is one of the skilled workers involved in making cricket bats.
17He takes a piece of willow and cuts it with a motorized saw.
18He then passes it on to another worker for the next part of the bat-making process.
19Dar followed his father into the business when he was a young man.
20He told VOA that, for the first time, he is worried about losing his job.
21"In the last couple of years," he said, "bat production has decreased."
22He said about six workers recently lost their jobs at his factory.
23On the main highway that connects Kashmir with the main part of India, there are 400 cricket bat factories.
24Drivers see the pieces of willow trees gathered along the road.
25Fifty of the factories have closed because they do not have the wood they need.
26The workers who lose their jobs do not have many other choices for work.
27Dar said they can become day laborers, work in agriculture or become sand diggers.
28Fayaz Ahmad Dar is president of the Kashmir Cricket Bat Manufacturers Union.
29He said the willow tree shortage started about five years ago.
30He said the business is almost "extinct due to complete negligence."
31Area factories, he said, receive just half the supply they used to.
32Ahmad Dar said the tree-growers in the area are planting cottonwood and poplar.
33Wood from those trees can be used in making plywood, which is used in the building industry.
34Those trees grow faster and their wood can be sold sooner.
35The willow trees grow more slowly.
36Ahmad Dar said he has talked with the director of commerce and industries for the Kashmir area.
37He told her about cricket's growth around the world and how important the area's factories are for the sport.
38Ahmad Dar said he asked that the government set aside land that could only be used for planting willow trees so that Kashmir's cricket bat business can survive.
39After the meeting, the Sher-e-Kashmir University's department of agriculture sent the bat manufacturers 1,500 small willow trees to plant.
40Ahmad Dar, however, said that was not nearly enough.
41The bat-makers need many more trees than that.
42He said just one bat company needs the wood from 10,000 to 15,000 trees each year in order to meet demand.
43I'm Dan Friedell.
1The best cricket bats in the world are made in England and India from willow trees. A bat is the long stick cricket players use to hit the ball. 2The bats from India are in especially high demand. That is because they are much less costly than the English bats. 3Bats from India cost between $50 and $500, while the ones made in England cost three to four times more. 4The bat factories are in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir and they employ about 100,000 people. 5The area makes about 3 million bats each year. The factories have customers in 125 countries. The cricket bat business brings in about $12 million to the Indian economy. The Kashmir bats make up about 70 percent of the world market because of their lower cost. 6Many of the area's factories, however, have closed because of a serious lack of willow trees. 7As Indian-made bats became more popular around the world, more and more willow trees were cut down. New willow trees were not planted to replace them. Wood farmers chose to grow different kinds of wood that grow more quickly than willow trees. 8Mohammad Shafi Dar is 55 years old. He is one of the skilled workers involved in making cricket bats. He takes a piece of willow and cuts it with a motorized saw. He then passes it on to another worker for the next part of the bat-making process. 9Dar followed his father into the business when he was a young man. He told VOA that, for the first time, he is worried about losing his job. 10"In the last couple of years," he said, "bat production has decreased." He said about six workers recently lost their jobs at his factory. 11On the main highway that connects Kashmir with the main part of India, there are 400 cricket bat factories. Drivers see the pieces of willow trees gathered along the road. Fifty of the factories have closed because they do not have the wood they need. 12The workers who lose their jobs do not have many other choices for work. Dar said they can become day laborers, work in agriculture or become sand diggers. 13Fayaz Ahmad Dar is president of the Kashmir Cricket Bat Manufacturers Union. He said the willow tree shortage started about five years ago. He said the business is almost "extinct due to complete negligence." Area factories, he said, receive just half the supply they used to. 14Ahmad Dar said the tree-growers in the area are planting cottonwood and poplar. Wood from those trees can be used in making plywood, which is used in the building industry. Those trees grow faster and their wood can be sold sooner. The willow trees grow more slowly. 15Ahmad Dar said he has talked with the director of commerce and industries for the Kashmir area. He told her about cricket's growth around the world and how important the area's factories are for the sport. 16Ahmad Dar said he asked that the government set aside land that could only be used for planting willow trees so that Kashmir's cricket bat business can survive. 17After the meeting, the Sher-e-Kashmir University's department of agriculture sent the bat manufacturers 1,500 small willow trees to plant. 18Ahmad Dar, however, said that was not nearly enough. The bat-makers need many more trees than that. He said just one bat company needs the wood from 10,000 to 15,000 trees each year in order to meet demand. 19I'm Dan Friedell. 20Muheet Ul Islam wrote this story for VOA. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. 21______________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23extinct -adj. no longer existing 24negligence -n. failure to pay attention to something 25______________________________________________________________ 26We want to hear from you. What do you think will happen to Indian cricket bats? 27We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.