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Varanasi silk weavers shift to weaving iron mesh Varanasi:
Switching from silk to iron, women weavers in Varanasi have shown
a rare adeptness. The handloom sector, which is the mainstay of the
city's labour- intensive Banarasi silk saree industry, is in dire straits
and is facing a bleak future. Instead of being disheartened, the women
weavers have shifted to making iron mesh used in the automobile industry
for filter pumps. The women now make a decent earning and are able to
feed their children. "The good thing is that this has given us a fresh
lease of life even after the slump of the saree weaving business. We
are now able to feed our children and send them to school," said Usha,
a woman weaver. The women are now part of Human Welfare Association
that is supervising the whole programme. Rajnikant, the convenor of
the Association, said: "They discovered that they can weave iron mesh
instead of sarees, as they are in great demand in Varanasi. The iron
mesh is used in automobile industry for filter pumps. One woman received
training and she started earning almost 40 rupees a day. Inspired by
her, others followed suit." The Banarasi sarees, named after Varanasi's
old name `Benaras' are also the city's most famous export item. Kullu environmentalists demand ban on mining (Go to Top) Kullu: Efforts are on by the local administration here to curb illegal mining and quarrying as environmentalists have raised a hue and cry over the threat of ecological degradation. Demanding a ban mining activity close to rivers in Himachal Pradesh, the environmentalists say that most villages in the area are in danger of being washed away by flash floods. "Mining should be stopped. The administration is hardly taking any constructive steps to do so," claimed Kishan Lal, an environmentalist. "To stop illegal mining the local administration is keeping a constant check and have also fined those who do not comply with Šthe orders," said R D Nazeen, the district collector of Kullu. -Sept 10, 2004 TN environmentalists for ban on idol immersions (Go to Top) Coimbatore:
Environmentalists in Tamil Nadu are campaigning for the imposition
of a ban on the immersion of Ganesh Chaturthi idols in the sea, saying
that chemical components of these edifices pose a major threat to marine
ecology. Ecologists say that to safeguard the water resources and the
marine life, it is imperative that this ban be imposed. "It is the duty
of every individual to safeguard the water resources for the coming
generation. Moreover, we are neglecting our duty by not doing so. Idols
made out of Plaster of Paris and painted with chemical-mixed enamel
should be banned from being submerged in waters across the nation,"
said R. Senthil Kumar, an environmentalist. "The idols take extremely
long to degrade and play havoc with the region's marine life, killing
large number of fish," he warned. "We are in this business for the past
40 years and for the past 12 years we have been manufacturing giant
sized Ganesh idols, as high as 14 feet. We make idols out of sand, Plaster
of Paris and paper boards," admitted Saravana Kumar, a manufacturer
of idols. After much hue and cry from environmental groups, some artisans
are making the idols with sand, papier machie and edible dyes, which
easily dissolves in water and is harmless to fish. Sculptors in Mumbai
are doing their bit too, using eco-sensitive sand and paper to make
their idols. |
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