Residents of Kamarajar Colony in Kariapatti in Virudhunagar district, where the unique goatskin water bags are made for the annual Chithirai festival, complain about lack of adequate water supply which was essential for making the bags. The existing curing pit has remained dry, they said.
The colony houses about 150 families and most of them are daily wage workers. The residents said that the bag-making process begins three months prior to the festival. However, they faced a water crisis in the last three months of this year. They had to get the water through water tanker lorries in order to finish the process, the bag makers said.
Explaining the process, a bag maker Muthu Mahalingam said that water was most important in the making process. He said that first they clean the hide and then keep it soaked in water for a day. Then they apply several ingredients like sunnambu, avaramkolai and nattu karuvapatta after which it is dried in the sun and then ironed. It is then polished and stitched.
However, they needed continuous supply of water during the making process. To clean 100 hides at least 1,000 litres of water was required and there were multiple stages in the bag-making process. Only through a continuous supply they can make the bags through the traditional method, said K. Gurunathar Vellaichamy, father of Muthu Mahalingam.
They said that the curing pit in the colony has remained dry and they had informed the authorities about the same. However, no steps were taken to ensure continuous supply of water. They made arrangements to get the required water to complete the process, the bag makers said.
If this continued, then they would be left with no choice but to send the hide to Dindigul district for processing which was done using chemicals which will be a costly affair. It will no longer be made in the traditional method. The authorities should construct a new strong water tank with adequate storage capacity so that water can be used in the process for making the goat skin water bags, the bag makers said.
