At least ₹five-crore worth sungudi cotton sarees manufactured in Chinnalapatti near here are lying in depots and shops for over a month in the wake of lockdown.
Popular among women in Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, production picks up during summer as the high temperature helps in printing dye and weaving the yarn swiftly. On an average, 15,000 to 20,000 sarees are manufactured by nearly 2,500 weavers in the region every day during the season.
The traditional variety is so famous that even womenfolk in countries such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore purchase them online, says R. Janardanan, a producer.
Production touches its peak during April and goes on till June 15. Preparatory works such as procurement of raw material, dye and yarn begin from January-end.
Since mid-March, however, there has been no activity at all in the wake of lockdown. Weavers are jobless and dyeing units have shut shop. Small yarn merchants have almost become penniless as weavers, to whom they they supplied raw material, have produced the sarees but are unable to sell or transport them to other cities, Mr. Janardanan points out.
If the situation of merchants and producers is bad, it is worse for weavers.
Take for instance K. Nagaraj of Mettupatti, who usually earns ₹800 daily as a weaver.
“After the lockdown announcement came on March 24, we were able to manage with what we had. From beginning of April, it began to get worse. Private money lenders have made our lives miserable. We received ₹1,000 cash relief from the government. But it is insufficient. For a family of six adults, it is a paltry sum,” he told The Hindu over phone.
Another weaver-cum-producer, A.S. Suresh of Sourashtra Colony says he usually gives at least 300 sarees daily for dyeing. But with lathe operators shutting shop, the material cannot be processed. “This is prime time for production. And all is gone for now. We do not know when normalcy will return,” he adds.
The government through the weavers welfare board should make arrangements for supply of yarn and other raw material. If it is done, many women weavers can at least restart work from their homes. “We can follow the guidelines of social distancing and need not step out of our homes. The raw materials have to be transported from near Palani, Udumalpet and Pollachi. Only the district administration can help us by getting the materials here,” says G. Packialakshmi of Valluvar Colony.
DMK MLA I. Periasamy says the DMK government had in the past redressed a number of grievances of weavers. The State government should immediately provide at least ₹5,000 to each of the registered weavers by crediting the sum to their bank accounts as relief.
Cooptex and Weavers Welfare Board should examine modalities to lift the finished goods worth ₹five crore from weavers’ cooperative societies, which alone will save the industry from the crisis, he adds.
