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Handlooms in UP Gasping for Breath GORAKHPUR: Handloom, once the symbol of self-reliance and generating employment for millions of small weavers, is on the verge of collapse following hike in prices of raw materials, fall in demand and poor marketing. Over a million weavers in Uttar Pradesh are facing closure as their primary customers or routers, the State agencies, have stopped picking up the handloom products. The weavers' association in Gorakhpur division says that procurement by State agencies has come down from three billion rupees in 1989-90 to almost two million rupees in 2002. Subsidies offered by the Central Government through agencies like the Handloom Corporation and Uttar Pradesh Industries Cooperative Association have recently been slashed from 25 to 15 per cent. Prices of raw cotton and threads have gone up over the years compounding the problems of the weavers. As a result almost 80 per cent of handlooms in Gorakhpur have shut down forcing weavers to switch to other jobs. Weavers say the handloom development agencies have rejected their stocks despite meeting the agencies' specifications. "I have been working in this handloom industry for the last 15-16 years but for the last two-three years our units have been closed. The problem is that the Government-run Handloom Corporation which used to buy our goods has not been in operation for the last few years. They don't buy goods from us any more and we don't have any local market where we can sell our goods. So our handlooms are lying idle," said Jeevan, an artisan. "They (Uttar Pradesh State Handloom Corporation officials) gave orders, we made products on their exact specifications. But then they did not buy them from us. Come with me, I will show you the stuff. It is all stacked up. There are no buyers. We are selling them in ones and twos, whenever we are lucky to find stray buyers. Otherwise some of us are selling vegetables, running tea stalls. What to do, one has to earn a living," said Bashir Ahmed Ansari, another artisan. Artisans engaged in the unorganised handloom industry are unable to market their products directly despite enjoying tax subsidies and incentives of a small-scale industry. Weavers say the various incentive schemes have been withdrawn one after other since 1990 and the Corporation has not made any purchase for the last six months. Officials, however, said a financial crunch might have forced a temporary halt to procurement. "I am not aware whether the department has completely stopped buying artisans' products. It is possible that the Government and the Corporation (State Handloom Corporation) are facing certain problems at present which is holding them from making purchases. But still we, on our part, are trying our best to help the artisans sell their products by organising fairs or facilitating their participation in various national exhibitions," said Anand Mohan, Additional Director, Industries (Handloom), Gorakhpur division. Mohan said a fairs will be held to promote the handwoven fabric. Khadi was popularised by the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who turned the spinning wheel into a silent but powerful symbol of his non-violent fight for independence. But after India opened up its economy to Western goods 10 years ago, fewer people took interest in khadi, which became synonymous with baggy shapeless kurtas mostly worn by university students or journalists and politicians. Last year, the Government unveiled a five-year 12.15 billion rupee programme to shake the dust off India's 8,000 khadi outlets and take khadi upmarket. India produces nearly 70 million metres of hand-woven fabric a year but it accounts for less than one per cent of the total cotton textile production. -ANI |
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