Leprosy patients stitch flags at the Little Flower Khadi and Village Industry in Raxaul. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, Jan. 21: With Republic Day round the corner, the leprosy patients of Sunderpur in Raxaul are extremely busy these days.

They are making Tricolours that would be supplied to many places in north Bihar.

The lepers in Bihar’s East Champaran district, 215km from Patna, have won people’s hearts all over the world. They have scripted success by weaving cotton and silk fabric.

Rehabilitated by Brother Christ Das, they produce cloths worth Rs 30 lakh every year. Das, who runs a hospital to treat the leprosy patients, has set up the Little Flower Khadi and Village Industry (LFKVI). Here the patients cured of leprosy weave the fabric and make items silk scarves and blankets, cotton bed sheets and napkins, shawls and others.

“The Tricolours made here are in great demand with educational institutions and government offices. Some politicians also purchase Tricolours from here,” Brother Das told The Telegraph over phone from Raxaul on Thursday. The price ranges between Rs 10 and Rs 100, depending on their size. Manager of the unit where the lepers work, Shiv Shanker Kumar, said: “Every year, on an average, we sell Rs 25,000-worth Tricolours.”

Kumar is not the only one proud of their products. The workers are also upbeat about their experience.

Thirty-five-year-old Raizul Haque, who works as a tailor in LFKVI, said: “We feel proud when we see the Tricolour flags made by us are hoisted at important places.”

“Providing meaningful employment to cured patients is a very satisfying experience. Their success story should be an example for others to follow,” said Brother Das.

His beneficiaries are all praises for their mentor as well. “If he had not been there, my life would have been ruined. Probably I would have been forced to become a beggar,” said 45-year-old Jung Bahadur who specialises in cotton yarn weaving.

Shahnaz Begum is happy not only because this venture provides her employment, but also takes care of her son Salim’s education.

The products of LFKVI are used by two Patna-based hospitals. Every year, the hospitals take items worth over Rs 12.5 lakh from here. Apart from bulk supplies LFKVI has opened its outlets at Dhaka in East Champaran and Bettiah in West Champaran. The joint sale of these two outlets is around Rs 12 lakh per annum.

The fabric weaved by the cured leprosy patients find their way to foreign countries too.

“Items worth Rs 10 lakh are supplied to a Delhi-based organisation every year. It is then exported to the UK, US, Sweden and Italy,” Kumar said. He added an Austria-based nun Sister Claudia also imports silk scarves and bed sheets worth Rs 7.5 lakh every year.