Silchar, Dec. 25: A technology park to churn out jute fabric and materials at Santipur village in Narsingpur block of Cachar district has been awaiting the National Jute Board's approval for the last two years.

The National Jute Board, under the Union ministry of textiles, created a special purpose vehicle (SPV) - a subsidiary company called the Assam Golden Fibre Jute Park Pvt Ltd - to set up a jute technology park, the first venture of its kind in the Northeast, at Santipur, 22km from here, in 2010.

Though the infrastructure of the technology park was completed a year ago, it remains non-operational because of the alleged non-cooperation of the National Jute Board.

The park is spread over 36 bighas of land, which was voluntarily donated by the people of Santipur village with a hope that they would get jobs in the industry.

Now they are repenting their decision to give the land to set up the jute park that has been lying abandoned for the past two years.

Following the direction of the National Jute Board, the Assam Golden Fibre Jute Park Pvt Ltd facilitated the training of around 800 women of the three Barak valley districts. These women are now without jobs as most of them belong to the financially weaker families.

Pat Shilpi Sangstha, a non-governmental organisation of jute artisans of the valley, is thinking of launching a democratic movement against the lackadaisical attitude of the National Jute Board towards the technology park in the state.

Saswati Mukherjee, the president of the organisation, told The Telegraph that all activities of the National Jute Board had come to a standstill since 2014.

"We have had 800 trained women who had thought of the training on making jute products as a step towards employment. We were told that following the completion of the training, people will be employed in the jute park. But today National Jute Board has cut off all sorts of facilities without any reason, leaving the people in the lurch," she added.

Mukherjee added that the trained women now were the need of raw materials, equipment and other facilities.

A higher official of the Assam Golden Fibre Jute Park Pvt Ltd told this correspondent here today that they were asked by the National Jute Board to construct the infrastructure for the park.

"We have constructed the infrastructure as directed by the National Jute Board. We have informed both the Board and the Union ministry of textiles, seeking the installation of machineries and other equipment. But sadly enough, we have not received any reply from either of them till today. Our repeated appeals and requests have fallen on deaf ears," he added.

The group of 800 trained jute artisans under the banner of Pat Shilpi Sanha recently sent a letter to the Union minister of state for textile Santosh Gangowar.

Sources said around Rs 9 crore to Rs 10 crore have already been invested in the park.

Altogether 99 per cent of the cost was borne by the jute board.