Poor arrival of ‘korai’ grass has hit the mat industry in and around Musiri in the district forcing manufacturers to suspend part of their production.
Musiri is a major town accounting for a large scale production of mats of two types -- ‘nool’ mat and ‘narambu’ mat and the town has about 30 companies, each employing about 50 labourers and producing around 600 mats daily. The companies accept orders and produce specific designs for marriages or interior decoration.
Karur district is the major supplier of the raw material ‘korai’ for this industry. Among them, Nerur is the predominant village which has vast areas under ‘korai’ cultivation for several decades. “All around the temple dedicated to Sri Sadasiva Brahmmendral, one can see a large number of fields which have been under cultivation of ‘korai’ but today, due to non-availability of water in the Cauvery, the arrival has got reduced drastically,” says P. Rajamani, a leading manufacturer in mat at Musiri.
The other villages in Karur district noted for ‘korai’ production are Kuchipalayam, Pandamangalam. In Tiruchi district, ‘korai’ is raised in Vellore, Ayyampalayam and Saendamangudi villages. In all, an estimated 15,000 acres is brought under ‘korai’ cultivation. “But, due to poor rain, the area has got dwindled down to 8,000 acres. Even here, the quality of the raw material is poor,” says Mr. Rajamani.
The arrivals this year has dwindled to 20 bundles of ‘korai’ against 40 bundles last year. Obviously, the production of mat had been reduced to just 300 mats from 600 previous year. ‘It is not an essential commodity and its non-availability is not immediately felt among the customers,” explains Rangan, another manufacturer.
Some of the workers employed by the cottage industry as daily wage labourers, have turned to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for employment now. Each labourer earned anywhere between Rs. 300 and Rs. 500 depending upon the nature of the work and their skill.
