Hundreds of cotton lungi weavers in villages like Guruvarajapet, Panapakkam, Podhatturpet and Ammayarkuppam near Arakkonam have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.
They don’t have fresh raw material, i.e., dyed thread, to work with, and have been unable to send finished products worth crores of rupees to the market due to a lack of transportation facilities.
According to K. Selvam, a master weaver, they are normally busy during this time of the year due to the Ramzan demand. Their products are sold in Chennai, Kolkata, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and even in Sri Lanka.
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“This time, I am stuck with products worth lakhs of rupees. With no income, weavers are finding it difficult to run their families. Most of them normally get an income of ₹20,000 a month, and those who procure products from them and sell the items in bulk get around ₹50,000 a month,” he said.
K. Prakasam, who has been working as a weaver for 32 years, said he had three children, and his family was just about managing. “We don’t even have enough money for food. Sometimes, our children go hungry, and it pains me to see them asking for more. We are not used to asking around for help, and others don’t have money to spare either,” he said.
A cash dole would help them be free of hunger this month, he added.
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In the light of the lack of work, he said he was worried about his children’s education expenses for the coming month.
Powerloom weavers say government assistance in the form of a dole, subsidies or facilitation of the sale of their products would go a long way in supporting their livelihood.
Not just weavers, but even those who are engaged in dyeing the threads and making the spindles in Nagari, Rajapalayam and Kancheepuram are out of work and are looking to the government for relief.