This opinion piece is by Sabbir Hossain, a student at Ta'mirul Millat Kamil Madrasa, Tongi.

Palash in Narsingdi and the areas around it once woke at dawn to the ring of bicycle bells and the bustle of thousands of workers. For a long time now they have been wrapped in silence, the huge machines locked behind the gates as if sighing. But the day has come for the wheels to turn again and break that silence.

Narsingdi and Palash mean air heavy with the smell of jute. The jute mills here are not just brick buildings and iron machinery; they are the dreams and livelihood of thousands of families. But ground down by time and mismanagement, they closed one by one, and the golden days of the workers' passion and heritage came to a halt among rusting shuttles.

A recent announcement by Md Shariful Alam, state minister for textiles and jute, has brought fresh hope. In line with the election manifesto, a plan has been made to restart the closed mills through leases. The main aim of doing this under a public-private partnership (PPP) model is to modernise the industry with private investment and bring momentum back to a stagnant economy.

Almost all recruitment to general posts will be local. Experienced people will be brought into technical and specialist posts to modernise the mills. This is not only about production but a rare chance to end unemployment for thousands of educated, hard-working local young people.

New investors will come forward building on the deep bond people of this region have with jute. If the mills reopen through leases, they will not only produce goods; Bangladesh's "golden fibre" will regain its lost glory in the world market, and a new feather of prosperity will be added to Narsingdi's economic map.

When history joins hands with modernity, a story of sustainable development begins. When the gates of the closed jute mills in Palash open again, it will be more than the sweat of workers and the noise of machines: it will be the royal return of Narsingdi's heritage. Moving ahead while holding on to its roots, this progress will take the national economy to new heights, the writer says.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.