Handloom industry in Silk city cries for renovation

BRAHMAPUR: The city is well known for its intricately designed silk sarees and handloom clothes across the country for which it is popularly known as the Silk City, but the handloom industry in the city is on dying stage due to lack of proper vision to save the age-old cottage industry and heritage of the State.

The civil society members of the city have expressed grave concern over the Government’s apathy towards the poor weavers who are passing through a bad period. They have been writing for the development of the handloom industry, but in vain. A civil society member and former Deputy Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly Rama Chandra Panda has written a letter to the President of India citing the problems of the weavers of the city as well as Ganjam district.

In the letter, Panda said the city has immense potential of the cottage industry it should be saved by extending necessary support. “Of late due to cost burdens and non-paying labour, the industry is on dying stage which needs an overall review on the functioning of such a precious cottage industry in the district.,” Panda said, adding, “To motivate the skilled artisans to continue their vocation for betterment of local economy, generation of employment, the looms should be modernised providing continuous technical support towards after care.”

Traditional class of weavers is known as ‘Dera community’ comprising of about a thousand families mostly residing in Ganesh Nagar, Balminkipeta, Chandrama Street in the city. There are also large number of weavers community residing in different parts of the district engaged in spinning and weaving activities since time immemorial. Few such villages are Kumbharipada, Pailipada, Pitala, Padmanabhapur, Nuapada, Nuapentha, Kullada, Beguniapada, Kantaikoli, Kanchuru, Makarjhola, Hinjilikatu and Potlampur.

The weavers of the city in particular are producing both elegant cotton and silk sarees through traditional weaving by indigenous looms. In course of time some of these families to coordinate their activities organised themselves into registered and unregistered societies/groups under initiative of Textile and Handloom Department of the State Government.

However at present three such successful registered societies are functional each having 30 members and they are reportedly performing well. The societies are supplying silk at 10 per cent margin to the weavers and purchasing the finished goods from them selling through society outlets at 10 per cent margin to public to encourage sale. Over and above, the 100 weaver families covered by three societies, there are reportedly 300 other individual weaving families who are engaged in spinning, weaving; dying and manufacturing both cotton and silk clothes, sarees and various other types of clothing materials carrying high legacy. The margin given by the Societies are being reimbursed by the Government. In recent past, Government sources supplied 30 inter locking slay looms and trained the artisans to add skill potential of which at present 10 such modernised looms are working while 20 such looms are closed reportedly due to lack of skill assistance and after care service. Lack of sustainable infrastructure discourages the Artisans to resort to modern means.

It is understood that local textile authorities have proposed to install a CAD unit along with Transfer Technology Facility Centre at Brahmapur by establishing Training-cum-Production Centre for Weavers to facilitate skill up-gradation, providing after care service, model weaving and designing which eventually would wipe-out the difficulties as narrated above. This proposal being in the pipeline needs to be implemented at the earliest, demanded Panda.

Panda demanded that the Government should allocate Government land to establish Residence-cum-Weaving Centres, commuaity centres to promote skill development as most of the weavers have no homestead land to establish looms for their rehabilitation and development. By this spinning and weaving would become full time vocation in which a large number of women can be engaged to achieve their empowerment, he added.

He also demanded the skilled artisans after attaining 60 years should be covered under old age pension, ESI insurance and other facilities. Government of India should formulate a model policy for uniform application of such welfare measures and the weavers need to be covered under Thrift fund deposit scheme by providing matching grant in order to cover the statutory welfare schemes to make the vocation full time and secured, he suggested.

“These measures may help empowering hundreds of spinners, weavers and connected other artisans both in the city and in its periphery, there by strengthen sustainable opportunity of economic growth as mandated in the State Policy in our Constitution,” Panda ended.