Herbal colours made by Forest dept staff a popular pick this Holi
siliguri: Herbal ‘Holi’ colours manufactured by the Forest department are flying off the shelves in Siliguri. There are still some days left for the festival and 60 per cent of the colours manufactured by the Forest department have been sold out.
India is known as the land of festivals and Holi- the festival of colours is one the most important. However, the colors that are available in the market contain chemicals that are very harmful for the skin. Owing to this, the demand for herbal colors is increasing by the day 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 West Bengal government has been engaged in the production of herbal colors in Taipu Tea Estate area near Bagdogra under the Siliguri Sub-Division.
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.
“This year, we have produced 3.9 quintals of herbal colours. This is less than last year. Last year we had produced 7 quintals but due to the after effects of COVID-19 we could not sell the entire stock last year. This year, we have decreased the quantity of production. However, the demand is very high this year. Almost 60 per cent of the colours have already been sold,” said Subrata Paul, an official from the Siliguri branch of the department.
These colours are being sold from the branch office in Siliguri. They have made 500 g and 250 g packets of each color. A 500 g packet costs Rs 90 and 250 g packet Rs 50. This year they have produced 225 kg of orange color, 116 kg of green color, and 49 kg of yellow color.
“Four permanent staff and four temporary staff are working in the production team at the Taipu Tea Estate and at the packaging line. Anyone who wants to buy the colour will have to buy from the Siliguri branch office. It took around six months for the entire production process to get completed,” added Paul.
The department buys the flowers from the market and collects the wood apple tree leaves from the forest areas. Thereafter they dry them in the sun. After that, they crush the flowers with the help of a machine and make them into a powder. Then Jasmine oil is added to the powder. The packets come with the message “Save Green See Dream.”
