Kendrapara: The weaver community under the Kusiapala Weavers’ Cooperative Society, once known for its dhotis, towels and handloom sarees in undivided Cuttack district, is in distress in the absence of government aid and encouragement from the State Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society.
As a result, several weavers have left their traditional occupation and are heading to other states in search of greener pastures. The society has been dying a slow death with nobody seeming to be making efforts for its revival, a report said.
The society was formed comprising weavers of Kusiapala, Mahasahipatana, Mangarajpur, Chanchunia, Thakurpatana, Khasapadia, Baburampatana, Balipatana, Talapatana, Haladia, Ghanashyampur, Udayanagar and Gulanagar villages in the 1940s.
Three decades back, the society had about 360 registered members. Now, the number has come down to 222. And out of them, only 30 weavers have been keeping the age-old occupation alive while others have lost interest in the trade, it was learnt.
Tapan Sahu, a septuagenarian weaver of Kusiapala, says the weavers of Kusiapala society are specialised in frame loom weaving. The weavers make dhotis, towels, handkerchief, saree, bed sheets and mosquito nets. They take the colour, design and cotton from the society and weave cotton items in their looms set up in their houses, he added.
The weavers deposit the finished products with the society and the society pays them their wages, Sahu said.
Everything was fine and the weavers were earning good wages by sticking to their traditional occupation. But things changed for the worse in 1999 when the Super Cyclone, which played havoc in the district, damaged the looms and houses of weavers.
“Earlier, there were 150 looms under the society. After the cyclone, we were left with only 30 looms,” said Hemanta Kumar Behera, president of Kusiapala Weavers’ Cooperative Society.
Though house damage assistance and other financial aid came from the state government, more than 60 per cent of weavers failed to get help from the society, alleged Biswanath Behera, another weaver.
Some weavers of Balipatana claimed that the wages they get from the society are meagre. They get Rs 15 for weaving a towel; Rs 30-40 for a dhoti; and Rs 100 for a saree, the weavers said.
A daily wager earns Rs 300 a day, but here weavers earn Rs 150 to Rs 200 per day. This is one of the major reasons behind migration of weavers to other states.
There are some schemes of the state and Union governments for weavers but most of the weavers under Kusiapala society fail to meet the eligible criteria for the benefits. Only two persons have been availing benefits of Baristha Bunakar Bhatta Yojana from the society, said Gobinda Chandra Jena, handloom inspector in charge of Kendrapara. PNN