The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Tirupati News : Lack of unity bane of Nagari weavers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 21, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati

Lack of unity bane of Nagari weavers

By A. D. Rangarajan

The Deputy Director of of the Textiles committee, Ciombatore, A. Unni Krishnan.

TIRUPATI, OCT. 20. Nagari, a major textile hub in the southern part of the State, is fraught with so many problems that it is virtually moving towards a state of negative growth.

Situated 50 km from here on the Chennai highway, Nagari is considered a jewel in Chittoor's crown for being able to generate business worth hundreds of crores. In fact, the export market was to the tune of around Rs.500 crores a couple of years ago, which has dropped to Rs.200 crore now.

As elsewhere, the downfall is attributed to globalisation. Though the strict quota regime, obsolete power looms, non-compliance to quality norms and unhelpful financial institutions are some of the reasons cited, the major one is believed to be the mutual mistrust and groupism among weavers.

Though they belong to the Senguntha Mudaliar community, the weavers are divided on the lines of villages, political parties etc. Though the enlightened elders and the educated youth among them are aware of the situation and the threat in store, not many are serious about burying the hatchet.

Falling orders

As many as 29 villages spread over 104 sq.km in and around Nagari are engaged in weaving activity, with Ekambarakuppam, Satravada, Chintalapatteda, Pudupet and Narayanavanam as major hubs. Only half of the 25,000 looms are working now, due to lack of orders.

Even in despair, mutual mistrust prevails between any two villages, which is why they do not mingle even to discuss state policy, schemes on loom modernisation etc. for fear of "trade secrets'' getting leaked out.

It was this pertinent point that A.Unnikrishnan, Deputy Director of Textiles Committee, Coimbatore, who is in charge of Tirupur, the nerve centre of South Indian textile business, also points out.

He expressed surprise on being told that there was no consortium (of Nagari weavers) in place.

In a special interview to The Hindu recently, Mr. Unnikrishnan spoke on the possible disadvantages that they could face in the absence of an association.

If lack of negotiating power with Government and banks was the first casualty, the loss of bargaining power during trade dealings (with suppliers and buyers) was another jolt, he said.

``Though small compared to Tirupur, which exports a whopping Rs.5,000 crores worth of garments a year, Nagari has a promising future, given the growing quality consciousness. But, the absence of an association is definitely a hurdle,'' he opined.

He even gave his advice to the weavers at a programme recently, which, unfortunately, went unheard.

Even after having witnessed a severe erosion in market, the weavers still avoid attending awareness programmes or training camps being held in neighbouring villages.

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Lack of unity bane of Nagari weavers