Karnataka - Hassan   

Waiting for a better deal

Shama Sunder

IN DISTRESS: Ningarajamma working in a reeling unit at Kabbur in Holenarsipur taluk of Hassan district.

HASSAN: Kabbur is a sleepy village in Holenarsipur taluk of Hassan district. There is a reeling unit in the village in which 20 women, who are members of Lakshmi Devi Women's Self-Help Group and Nityananda Women's Self-Help Group, are working.

Some of them have been working for the past 30 years. But what they earn is meagre. They are not even paid minimum wages. The Khadi and Gramodyoga Sahakara Sangha was formed about 30 years ago at Kabbur. 70-year-old Ningarajamma has been working in the unit since then. Work starts at 8 a.m. and continues till 6 p.m. An experienced weaver will produce 20 rolls a day. Each roll weighs 120 gm. For each roll, the workers get Rs. 1.20. The wages does not exceed Rs. 22 a day. Ningarajamma said when the unit was opened, they were given training for three months with a stipend of Rs. 300. Raw material comes from Chitradurga. After they produce threads, they will be sent to handlooms. Some years ago, they went on strike demanding that they be given permanent jobs or minimum wages fixed by the Government. But the authorities concerned did not fulfil their demands. Though reeling units were opened at Doddakadanur and Tathanahalli at the same time, only those at Kabbur and Doddakadanur are working.

Ningarajamma said the workers are hoping that their demands will be fulfilled at the earliest.

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