The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Wefts, warps wedging in misery

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Tamil Nadu

Wefts, warps wedging in misery

Demand for handloom saris has come down as synthetic saris are cheaper

Tangle: A couple seen weaving a sari in Tiruvalangadu village in Nagapattinam district.

Handloom and silk weavers in various parts of the Cauvery delta region of Nagapattinam district are reeling under severe economic crisis.

While the sudden steep increase in the prices of all commodities had affected the economic condition of their families, the hike in price of yarn, zari and other raw materials and the power shut-down for several hours in villages have put the weavers in a tight spot.

Hundreds of handloom and silk weavers most of them living in the villages in Mayiladuturai region are now keeping their fingers crossed on how to make their ends meet.

Not enough orders

Subbiah and Lakshmi, a weaver couple in Tiruvalangadu village, explain that they were not getting enough orders for weaving of silk or cotton sarees from the traders thanks to the steep hike in the yarn and zari prices.

“We are now making only two or three silk sarees a month. We used to weave up to 10 sarees till a few years ago. The wages offered are also not profitable to us. We get only Rs.500 for making a silk saree and that will take four or five days for two persons to weave one’, Subbiah said.

Seeking alternatives

Several weavers’ families in Koranadu village have been forced to look for work as casual labourers in construction sites and farm lands.

Decreasing demand

The demand for handloom and silk sarees has come down in the last two years as textile shops in towns have brought in huge collection of synthetic sarees and selling them at very cheap rate ranging from Rs.150 to Rs.300, weavers say.

The livelihood of the weavers’ families are worst affected because of the prevailing inflation. “I was getting an income of about Rs.12,000 per month a year ago. But I am now getting only 50 per cent of the income, about Rs.6,000 to Rs.7,000 per month. I have to manage my five-member family with this income and send two children to high school. I have curtailed my monthly expenditure. I am paying a monthly rent of Rs.1,500 plus electricity charges for my house and spending Rs.2,000 for purchase of provisions including rice. Besides, I have to meet the medical expenses of my aged parents and education of my children within this reduced earnings,” said Thanikachalam, a weaver and producer of handloom cloth in Kilvelur.

Rathinam, a 60-year-old weaver of Vedaranyam, stated, “The price of good rice is quoted at between Rs.25 and 28 per kg, thoor dal at Rs.54 per kg, gingelly oil at Rs.120 per litre, dried red chilly at Rs.75 a kg, tamarind at Rs.68 per kg. I am finding it difficult to run a six-member family with an income of Rs.6,000 per month. We have completely avoided going to hotels or to cinema theatres for the past two years. The money spent on entertainment isnow being saved for running day to day life of the family.”

Crippling factors

Irudayasamy of Kollidam, a master weaver, said that the weaving industry and the livelihood of weavers’ families had almost run into shatters in the last one year mainly due to the sudden steep increase in the prices of essential commodities including vegetables, fish, mutton coupled with cent per cent rise in the raw materials prices like yarn, zari, etc required for handlooms and powerlooms.

Non-availability of adequate power supply in rural areas, is the main factor that crippled the livelihood of weavers and weaving industry in the district.

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