The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : Once-thriving saree trade now in grip of crisis

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 10, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

Once-thriving saree trade now in grip of crisis

Javed M. Ansari

VARANASI

Jalees Ansari's world is crumbling around him. His once-thriving Benarasi saree business has almost run aground and Mr. Ansari's monthly income has dipped from Rs. 5 lakh to just about Rs. 5,000 in the last two months. Caught in the midst of one of the worst slumps in the history of the Benarasi saree trade, Mr. Ansari and lakhs of other weavers like him are facing a nightmare.

The world-renowned saree trade in Varanasi, Azamgarh and Mau is in the throes of an unprecedented crisis. The looms have shut down, sales are at an all time low, and creditors are knocking at the door. Out of desperation, hundreds of families have started migrating from the city; those left behind alternate between cursing the politicians and seeking divine help through special prayer meetings. "This is the biggest crisis that we have faced in our lifetime and unless the Government does something about it, we are doomed," says Rajan Behl, general secretary of the Benarasi Vastu Udyog Sangh.

There is an unmistakeable air of gloom and despair in the weaver-dominated localities of Varanasi, Mau and Azamgarh. The constant buzz of the looms has now been replaced by silence and entire families involved in the trade have been laid low. What is worse, most of the families have been involved in this business for generations and know no other skill that might earn them a decent living.

"We don't have the option of doing something else because this is all we know," says Anisur Rehman, a resident of the weaver-dominated locality of Reodi Talab in Varanasi.

The saree trade is without doubt the mainstay of the economy of this region, with a turnover of Rs.100 crore a year. Some 40 lakh people are directly or indirectly involved in the trade and few have seen times worse than this. "I have been in this business since 1971 but I have never seen anything like this," laments Akhlaq Chander, a wholesale dealer from Azamgarh.

Despair is now turning to anger. And it is the politicians who are the focus of it. "We are suffering because we do not have a voice in Parliament,'' says a trader from Mau. In Varanasi, the sitting BJP MP, Shankar Prasad Jaiswal, is the target of the of the community's ire. "Despite being a member of the ruling party he has done nothing to help us," says a one-time leading exporter of Benarasi sarees.

Most weavers blame the Central Government's policies for their miseries. "The government's decision to impose anti-dumping duty on the import of silk yarn from China has made it difficult for us to access cheap raw material," says a local businessman. The State Government is also not spared for neglecting the problems of the weavers; it was only last month that the Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, was prevented from addressing a meeting of the weavers' community. "Now that elections are round the corner they are all rushing to us," says Rehan Ahmad of Varanasi.

Explaining the genesis of the problem, an insider says that higher raw material prices had pushed up the cost of the famous Benarasi sarees, leading to dwindling sales. Besides, competition has emerged in the shape of products from Surat in Gujarat as well as Chinese silk. With regular availability of power, mills in Surat have set up high performance power looms that churn out durable, inexpensive synthetic sarees. In Varanasi, the trade is still handloom based, and erratic power supply makes it unfeasible to set up power looms. The production is low and wages are high, making the Benarasi saree more expensive.

Cheap, ready-to-wear dresses from China have added to the problem. "They first sent plain silk fabric and have now set up computerised looms which produce good quality sarees," says Atiq Ansari, general secretary of the Varanasi Weavers Association.

For those engaged in the Benarasi saree business, there seem to be no answers to their problems.

Unable to cope with the competition and ill equipped to take up any other business, the situation looks bleak. "Unfortunately, there is no light at the end of the tunnel," says Jalees Ansari.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National