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For greater than a month now, 20 handlooms of Yellanna Ganti, at Kerur in Badami taluk, have fallen silent and the expert weavers engaged on them have misplaced their livelihood.
Mr. Ganti’s Banashankari Handloom Production Unit has piled up a inventory of 6,000 metres of material because it has reported very poor gross sales within the post-lockdown months.
Mr. Ganti, who produced a median of three,000 metres of handloom a month earlier than the lockdown, has stopped manufacturing and is now targeted on clearing his inventory to generate capital to restart his unit.
‘Out of work’
“I feel very bad as weavers have been out of work for more than a month now. I have stocks but no cash to pay weavers. Only if I clear the stock can I get money to restart the looms,” Mr. Ganti instructed The Hindu over cellphone.
“The younger generation of weavers has left and those who are still in villages are those who cannot migrate. My biggest worry now is how to provide them work,” he stated.
Similar tales echo from totally different weaving clusters in Bagalkot, Gadag, and Yadgir districts which have a excessive variety of weavers. Already, the weaving group has shrunk considerably as per the 4th Handloom Census 2018-2019, carried out by Union Ministry of Textiles, and the COVID-19 disaster is one other blow.
Mudhol-based Dhaneshwari Kaimagga Nekarara Batte Utpadakara Ghataka, a self-help group (SHG) in Bagalkot, has unsold inventory of 5,000 metres, whereas the month-to-month manufacturing has come down from a median 5,000 metres to about 2,000 metres. “We never faced a situation like this. We have tried different products too but they have not yet received market acceptance,” stated Shivashankar E. Moodalagi of the ghataka.
Shivamogga-based Charaka Women Weavers’ Cooperative has a inventory pile of practically 80,000 metres.
A critical consequence of the present scenario has been that weavers, not discovering work of their villages, have began migrating in quest of jobs.
“If we stop weaving completely, weavers will go away. Many other jobs yield better wages and are less strenuous. We are struggling to give them work,” stated Mallikarjun Rawat of Shahpur-based Shambhavi Kaimagga Nekarara Sangh in Yadgir district.
“Of the 50 weavers we had, 20 have left. We will have to run around to get weavers if all of them leave,” he added.
Cancelled orders
Gajendragad-based Sri Banashankari Nekarara Sahakara Sangh has not solely seen excessive shares, but in addition cancellation of current orders, leading to funds going haywire.
“Despite the crisis, we continue to give some work because if we let the weavers go, we have to shut the looms permanently. We have to show interest in retaining the talent. As it is, the younger generation is not interested in weaving,” stated sangh secretary Ambareesh R.S. “In fact, due to capital crisis, many societies are near closure. After the current crisis, the number of active weavers may come down further.”
Of the 50 weavers hooked up to the Dhaneshwari Kaimagga in Mahalingapur, no less than 15 are anticipated to not return.
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