Panipat : Prior to independence in 1947 there was no handicraft industry in the country and people used to manufacture few handicraft products manually on ‘Khaddis’, but afterwards this industry witnessed drastic boom in ‘Textile City’ Panipat after 1975 when handloom products manufactured in the town earned name and fame not only in the country as well as across the world.  Information reveals, there are  more than 31,050 units in ‘Textile City’ manufacturing textile products, blankets, carpets, bed sheets and other handicraft products by nearly 15,350 workers involved in this business with a strength of nearly 15,700 exporters.

‘Bunkar Sewa Kendra’  was set up in Panipat under the supervision of  winner of several national and international awards Khemraj Sundriyal, originally hailing from village Suniadi in Peedi Garhwal in Uttarakhand when more than 5000 small scale units manufacturing colourful handicraft products from cotton yarn in different designs were set up, providing employment to more than 30,000 persons within a decade, in-spite of tough competition from handicraft industry in China, which flooded their products not only in our domestic markets but also in other countries due to their lesser prices.

Handicraft products manufactured in Textile City Panipat are having annual export of value worth over Rs 50,000 crore, said Khemraj Sundriyal that handicraft products presently being manufactured in Panipat have 8% share share in export markets, especially in countries including Vietnam, Pakistan, Italy, Germany and other 35 European countries doing annual business of value worth over Rs 50,000 crore selling bed sheets, blankets, carpets and all types of handicraft products.