Mis-Marketing and Government Negligence Harms Telangana Weavers – Global Issues
SIDDIPET, POCHAMPALLY & KOYALAGUDDEM, India, Jan 08 (IPS) – The southern Indian state of Telangana has always been home to cotton and silk. But in recent years, the lack of market, expensive materials, and neglect of the government have had a great impact on the weaving community. As a result, the younger generation avoids pursuing this traditional profession and opts for more lucrative careers.
This can be seen when one visits the cities of the kingdom. Take Siddipet, which is 100 kilometers away from Hyderabad city. Siddipet has always been known for its beautiful cotton sarees and stoles. But today, only about a hundred people, spread over seven confederations, still weave.
Srivikailasam is a well-known middle-aged weaver who was honored by the Chief Minister with the Konda Laxman Bapuji award. Her saris, dupattas and stoles are prized items in the export market. However, none of his children—a son and two daughters—wanted to inherit his work.
Another weaver known as Ilaiyah, has been weaving for 60 years, since she was 15 years old. However, her children have turned their backs on weaving.
Yadagiri has also been weaving for the past 60 years, like her fellow weavers. But neither his son nor daughter is interested in learning to weave.
Professional weaver Mallikarjun Siddi, who also owns a stall in Siddipet, has followed his father, renowned weaver Buchaiah Siddi, in this profession. But his children have left this traditional work.
However, Siddi protects the youth.
“Why do young people want to do a low paying job? A weaver earns Rs 1000 (USD 11.82) a day here, and it takes three full days to weave a sari. The work at HiTech City IT center in Hyderabad is fetching more.”
Worse, the Telangana government does not subsidize electricity; this resulted in Siddipet weavers continuing to use handlooms instead of switching to powerlooms, making their work tedious and difficult. Electricity is Rs 10 (USD 0.12) per unit. If subsidized, the cost comes down to Rs 1 (US$ 0.012) per unit. Power looms are expensive, ranging from Rs 1.5 lakh to 6 lakh (USD 1773.5 to USD 7101). With the help of electricity, the weaver can carry the load. Otherwise, it is impossible. So, even today, you see only handlooms here,” explains Siddi.
Marketing the product is also difficult. The government buys the product at high prices but does so with disdain. “Their representatives come only once a year, although the payment is big but not fast. “Private parties come regularly, and they usually pay quickly,” said the weavers.
The story is no different in Pochampally, which is world famous for its silk fabrics. Ikat here can be single kat or double kat, and the second one is more expensive. The yarn must first be soaked and then dyed before weaving. Since ikat yarns require all strands of yarn to be dyed separately, electric yarn cannot be used. Thus, ikat looms, whether cotton or silk, must be woven on a hand loom, as master weaver Laxman Tadaka demonstrates. The silk thread comes from Bengaluru and is priced at Rs 4500 (USD 53.20) per kilogram. A weaver needs an average of 6 kg of yarn to weave seven sarees a month. To cover the cost of installation and effort, the weaver must sell enough. “The 15 percent subsidy extended by the government will not be enough,” said Tadaka.
Rudra Anjanelu, the manager of the Pochampally Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society, says that they depend on sponsorship.
“Our silk sarees are expensive. But we cannot give discounts unless the government supports us. The biggest problem is the 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST) now imposed by the central government. It makes saris and other silk products more expensive.”
In the past, the state government used to provide marketing support through its shops, offering customers products at discounted prices, especially during the festive season, while supporting weavers. This is no longer available, which makes it difficult for the weavers.
Most of the weavers have to rely on the Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Limited (TSCO), their main cooperative, to sell their produce.
“We proposed a way to consolidate our sales. The Telangana government has a Kalyanalakshmi scheme, where girls’ parents are given Rs 1 lakh (USD 1182.32) for their daughter’s marriage. Along with this money, the government can easily provide a saree worth Rs 10,000 (USD 118.23) to brides. This will help us weavers, while helping parents with bridal trousseau,” said Anjanelu.
Besides, many handloom weavers are not happy with the quality of handlooms that are subsidized by the government through the National Handloom Development Corporation.
Muralikrishnan, a weaver from Koyalaguddem, a town famous for cotton, complains, “The yarn provided by the government is of low quality and this, may affect the quality of our final product. It’s not like what we get from private sellers.”
Moreover, as Anjanelu points out, “Yarn has to be paid for. If the sales decrease, how can the weavers buy any yarn?”
The biggest challenge for handloom weavers is still the saturation of the market with printed copies, which sell at a fraction of the price of handloom cloth.
However, in retrospect, it is not as if the Telangana government is doing nothing. However, if the weavers did not receive long-term benefits, can this be attributed to the outcome of the vote?
The previous Chandrashekhar Reddy (state) government, for example, introduced a 36-month savings-cum-insurance scheme for weavers called the Thrift Scheme, where the government contributed an amount corresponding to the investment made by an individual.
In Pochampally, land was also approved for a handloom centre, and a handicraft park was set up on the outskirts of the town. However, with the election of a new Chief Minister, the plans came to nothing. Handloom Park has also suffered from bad planning. Weavers who had opened a shop in the park now have to market their products from their homes.
It is surprising that the weavers of Pochampally, Koyalaguddem and Siddipet find it difficult to sell their beautiful weaves, despite being located in the metropolitan area of Hyderabad, which boasts of a leading population with a high income.
Despite the problems they face, there are a few who have found a solution. Dudyala Shankar and Muralikrishnan of Koyalaguddem have diversified their range of products to include ikat fabric and bed sheets, as well as traditional saris, dupattas, and stoles. Muralikrishnan has been reaching out to markets across India through the Internet, from his dusty village.
He tells me: “It is the only way out.
Indeed, the World Wide Web can fill in where humans cannot. Product diversification and market access that translates into sales may ultimately cut through the younger generation to keep the weaving tradition alive in Telangana and prevent it from dying.
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