Morada: With scarce job opportunities and livelihood sources, bamboo artisans of several villages under Morada block in Mayurbhanj district are travelling to neighbouring states to work as migrant labourers. While thousands of migrant workers had returned to their villages after the Covid-19-induced lockdown, lack of buyers for their products has forced the bamboo weavers to leave their homes again in search of work. Bamboo items, which were once high in demand, are now losing their place in the market, thanks to lack of assistance from the administration and the government.
Moreover, easy availability of Chinese products has dampened the demand. Colourful bamboo-made hand fans, ladders, baskets and mats now look forlorn. Villagers from Nuajhalia, Durgapur, Haladipal, Chitrada, Gadagaon and other panchayats under Morada block had been reviving the craft.
However, with no help from the administration, it has become difficult for the bamboo weavers to help the craft sustain. Rabindra Mahant, a bamboo weaver, who has been in the business for nearly three decades, is unable to sell even a single bamboo hand fan in the last one month. “I had woven more than a hundred bamboo hand fans keeping in mind the summer season but all are left unsold. Now, the rainy season has already set in.
So, there are no takers of these hand fans,” he lamented. Similarly, Santosh Kumar Behera, a bamboo weaver, sits all day on his house verandah and weaves bamboo trays, mats and other products, with the hope that people will buy at least one product. However, there are few takers for his product. So, he and his fellow villagers have decided to go to other states to work as migrant labourers.
Earlier, during the wedding season, there was a huge demand for ‘mora’ (a bamboo tray) which is commonly filled with pulses and rice to offer ‘Baagina’ during the wedding. But the products are now gathering dust. “It has become really difficult for us to even meet our basic needs,” said another weaver adding that there are nearly hundreds of bamboo weavers in Mayurbhanj district who need help. “We all are staring at a grim future,” he said.
