Dull Deepavali for Madurai weavers
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Deepavali is normally peak season for handloom weavers as extra folks buy groceries for saris throughout this era. However, the competition season this yr has been disappointing for the handloom weavers of Madurai district, primarily due to COVID-19.
The weavers say they’ve acquired only a few ‘paavu’ (warps) to weave saris and have suffered a wage minimize as gross sales haven’t picked up.
K.R. Kishore Babu, supervisor, Dhakshinamoorthy Weavers Cooperative Society, says many households of weavers are residing at Nilaiyur, Sakkimangalam, Thirunagar, Vandiyur, Krishnapuram Colony and Thiruvalluvar Colony. They obtain orders from personal brokers and Co-optex for saris which can be bought throughout the nation.
K.M. Umadevi, a weaver from Nilaiyur, says the weavers used to obtain 4 warps throughout Deepavali. “However, this year the private agents have given the weavers only one warp to weave saris.”
Mr. Babu says Co-optex has decreased the variety of cotton saris procured from weavers. “Due to the financial distress caused by the pandemic, sari sales have been very poor and stocks have been piling up,” he provides.
Citing the poor sari gross sales, the personal brokers have decreased the wages for weaving a warp by 10%-15%, says N.T. Mani Baba, a weaver from Nilaiyur. “Usually, many members of a family work together, weaving a sari. With the wages cut, it has become extremely difficult to run our families,” he says.
J.D. Banumathi, a weaver from Vandiyur, says the wages are paid in instalments. “The private agents have not assured us of festival bonus this year. This will worsen our financial crisis as we earned a pittance during the lockdown period,” she says. “As we earn less, it is becoming difficult to pay the house rent and meet family expenses.”
This disaster will power many weavers to shift to different jobs, says A.S. Jayaprakash, a weaver from Vandiyur. He urges the federal government to repair minimal wages for weavers to keep away from exploitation.
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