The potential timber industry of Jammu and Kashmir: special reference to the willow cricket bat segment

The region of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) lies at a unique combination of the geographic coordinates. The region is located at an intersection of a number of international borders making it a sensitive zone politically, and is mostly hilly and land-locked adding an economic limitedness to its already fragile nature and mountainous ecosystem makes the local environment delicate. The cumulative effect of these exogenous factors has been realised in the laggard development of J&K. While in the rest of the country, industrialisation has been at the back of the realised development process, the outcomes of industrial activities in J&K have been limited. As such, there has been a general realisation that in the region of J&K a generalised industrialisation can’t be implemented and practised. Instead, the region needs a charted-out targeted industrialisation that suites its geography, climate and indigenous natural resource availability. In light of these realisations, the present study is an attempt to validate the feasibility of the wood industry in general and the willow wood industry with special reference to willow cricket bats in particular. Through a detailed analysis of the J&K economy, the study concludes by prescribing some timely policy measures targeting the wood industry of J&K.