For more than a month now, 20 handlooms of Yellanna Ganti, at Kerur in Badami taluk, have fallen silent and the skilled weavers working on them have lost their livelihood.
Mr. Ganti’s Banashankari Handloom Production Unit has piled up a stock of 6,000 metres of fabric as it has reported very poor sales in the post-lockdown months.
Mr. Ganti, who produced an average of 3,000 metres of handloom a month before the lockdown, has stopped production and is now focused on clearing his stock to generate capital to restart his unit.
‘Out of work’
“I feel very bad as weavers have been out of work for more than a month now. I have stocks but no cash to pay weavers. Only if I clear the stock can I get money to restart the looms,” Mr. Ganti told The Hindu over phone.
“The younger generation of weavers has left and those who are still in villages are those who cannot migrate. My biggest worry now is how to provide them work,” he said.
Similar stories echo from different weaving clusters in Bagalkot, Gadag, and Yadgir districts which have a high number of weavers. Already, the weaving community has shrunk significantly as per the 4th Handloom Census 2018-2019, conducted by Union Ministry of Textiles , and the COVID-19 crisis is another blow.
Mudhol-based Dhaneshwari Kaimagga Nekarara Batte Utpadakara Ghataka, a self-help group (SHG) in Bagalkot, has unsold stock of 5,000 metres, while the monthly production has come down from an average 5,000 metres to about 2,000 metres. “We never faced a situation like this. We have tried different products too but they have not yet received market acceptance,” said Shivashankar E. Moodalagi of the ghataka.
Shivamogga-based Charaka Women Weavers’ Cooperative has a stock pile of nearly 80,000 metres.
A serious consequence of the current situation has been that weavers, not finding work in their villages, have started migrating in search of jobs.
“If we stop weaving completely, weavers will go away. Many other jobs yield better wages and are less strenuous. We are struggling to give them work,” said Mallikarjun Rawat of Shahpur-based Shambhavi Kaimagga Nekarara Sangh in Yadgir district.
“Of the 50 weavers we had, 20 have left. We will have to run around to get weavers if all of them leave,” he added.
Cancelled orders
Gajendragad-based Sri Banashankari Nekarara Sahakara Sangh has not only seen high stocks, but also cancellation of existing orders, resulting in finances going haywire.
“Despite the crisis, we continue to give some work because if we let the weavers go, we have to shut the looms permanently. We have to show interest in retaining the talent. As it is, the younger generation is not interested in weaving,” said sangh secretary Ambareesh R.S. “In fact, due to capital crisis, many societies are near closure. After the current crisis, the number of active weavers may come down further.”
Of the 50 weavers attached to the Dhaneshwari Kaimagga in Mahalingapur, at least 15 are expected not to return.
