The Crescent Jute Mill has a total of 1,100 looms, imported from James Mackie & Sons Company, a renowned British company. In its heyday, the mill had the capacity to produce 100 tonnes of jute bags and cloth per day. The United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia were the major destinations for jute products.
The building of the Jute Department, where mill officials used to buy jute from farmers and traders, is now deserted. The jute price chart of 20 July 2020 is still displayed on the wall board of the dilapidated building.
After the Jute Department building, there is a furnace for repairing iron rods of machines. It also remains deserted. Carpentry and transport buildings also fell into disrepair. A bus and a truck were found abandoned inside the Transport Bhavan.
In a conversation with Prothom Alo, Rais Uddin Ahmed, acting manager and coordination officer of the Khulna regional office of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC), said that there is no allocation for the maintenance of machinery in the jute mill. Maintenance operations require the purchase of oil and the appointment of about one hundred technicians.
“The previous technicians left after losing their jobs. Where do we find them?” He added, however, that they sometimes clear the dust.