Herbal Holi colours flying off the shelves in Siliguri
Forest dept produces 7 quintal colours this yr
Herbal ‘Holi’ colours produced by the Forest department are flying off the shelves in Siliguri. As the demand has increased, the department has produced 7 quintal colours this year, which is double compared to last year.
“We have increased the production as the demand was high. These colours have been made with natural ingredients. We hope we can earn a revenue of Rs 1 lakh this year. People have already started buying the colours,” said S P Sharma, DFO of Non Timber Forest Production Division.
India is known as the land of festivals and Holi — the festival of colours is one the most important. However, the colours that are available in the market contain chemicals that are very harmful for the skin. Owing to this, the demand for herbal colours is increasing and the herbal colours produced by the Forest department are in high demand in Siliguri. For the last 10 years, the Non Timber Forest Produced Division (NTFP) of the Forest department of Bengal government has been engaged in the production of herbal colours in Taipu Tea Estate area near Bagdogra under the Siliguri SubDivision.
They produced three colours naturally from flowers and leaves. The yellow colour is produced from yellow marigold flowers, green from the wood apple tree leaves and orange colour from the orange marigold flowers.
Last year, 3.9 quintals herbal colours were produced which generated a revenue of Rs 47,000.
These colours are being sold from the branch office in Siliguri. They have made 500 g and 250 g packets of each colour. A 500 g packet costs Rs 90 and 250 g packet Rs 50.
‘We hope we can earn a revenue of Rs 1 lakh this year. People have already started buying the colours’