Andhra Pradesh - Eluru   

Rural artisans stage protest at Collectorate

— Photo: A.V.G. Prasad

FEELING THE HEAT: A washerwoman irons clothes at Collectorate as part of a protest demonstration in Eluru on Monday.

ELURU: The privatisation of water sources has brought the washermen profession under a serious threat, according to Andhra Pradesh Rajaka Vruthi Darula Sangham which led a protest at the Collectorate along with the other rural artisans here on Monday with a charter of demands.

“Our profession is on the verge of extinction in the wake of privatisation of water sources and encroachment of tanks allegedly by landlords in the villages which deprive us of dhobi ghats,” the sangham said in a memorandum submitted to the Collector.

The plight of washermen had turned from bad to worse of late with the dry washing machines finding their way into the households. The machines were hitting the washermen below their belt, the sangham said. They expressed serious concern over Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s statement, exhorting the washermen to compete with the machines in terms of speed and quality in their profession. The sangham leaders said their profession could no longer be viable in the light of increasing prices of coal.

They wanted the government to supply 150 kg of coal per washerman family per month at subsidised rates. The sangham appealed to the State government to establish rajaka welfare committees at the district level for the uplift of washermen on the social and economic fronts.

Weavers, toddy tappers, goat and sheep rearers, fishermen and barbers, carpenters, folk artists, goldsmiths, potters and tailors joined the protest staged under the banner of Andhra Pradesh Vruttidarula Samanvaya Committee.

The samanvaya committee highlighted the need for allocation of budgets to the artisans in proportionate to their population for their welfare.

The participants protested against the alleged failure by the State government in timely payment of compensation to the bereaved family members of artisans, mainly weavers, who died due to economic difficulties.

The entry of multi-national companies into the professions of artisans spelt a doom for them, the sangham worried.

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Rural artisans stage protest at Collectorate

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