Pushed to brink, Saurashtra weavers fear lockdown extension will cripple business

TNN | Apr 11, 2020, 04.21 AM IST

Madurai: The lockdown would not have come at a worse time for the handloom weaving business which had been witnessing a gradual decline over the years in the district. With little yarn or ‘paavu’ left to weave and earn wages, when business would have usually peaked, the weavers are staring at losing even the little they earn.

“We are thankful to have been able to continue working and get some income since the lockdown began. But if the lockdown is extended, we will be in deep trouble because the raw material (paavu) stock is fast running out,” said Raja G V, a weaver for over 30 years in Balarengapuram. Many weavers in the area, which is in the heart of the city, have their handloom machines inside their houses and the textile owners who provide raw materials are also relatively close by. However, the owners are as of now only providing paavu from the stock they had.

Some of the handloom weavers hubs, mainly from the Saurashtra community, include Balarengapuram, Sakkimangalam, Vandiyur, Theppakulam and Kaithari Nagar, which has the largest number of weavers. “Some weavers are however unable to get the raw material because of transportation issues and places like Vandiyur are far from where textile owners are. In some areas, police are chasing weavers who try to set up their looms on the street,” said Srinivasan T, another weaver of over 40 years. The weavers are also unable to afford masks or gloves when working on the roadsides. They start early in the morning and try to wrap up by 10-11 am.

The weavers already earn only a meagre income of Rs 6,000-8,000 a month depending on the type of paavu and product. It takes about 20-40 days depending on the speed of work to finish weaving saris out of one paavu. The raw materials have also become expensive. “Particular types of silk are hard to come by and its cost has doubled during the past few months. Already, the owners are splitting the paavu so as to keep us all busy equally and at a slower pace,” said Srinivasan.

Textile owners meanwhile said they are trying their best to support the weaver community. "But, in reality, even we have been hit badly. Still, as far as possible, we try to pay money in advance for those in need. However, if lockdown is extended, we will not be able to procure raw materials at all and nothing will be in our hands," said Rajamurthy PK, owner of Jeyalakshmi Textiles.