VIJAYAWADA: Even after Kalamkari art form got Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2013, artisans are struggling to sell their products. The tag has not benefited them in any way as people, including the artisans themselves, are unaware of the tag.“Just because the tag has been conferred, it does not mean that people know about it.
Even if certain people who read or watch the news know, the tourists mostly do not. Products of various indigenous art forms such as Kalamkari should have a mark like jewellery has hallmark, or it should have a bar coded label, assuring the people that the product has been recognised by the government,” said P Srinivas, head of Kalamkari Museum in Pedana.
Batta Mohan Rao, president, Kalamkari Welfare Association, said, “Many Kalamkari workers have shifted to tenant farming or have become construction labourers. The ones who are working, get `200-`400 but it is not an adequate compensation for the work they do.”
However, Sajja Nageswara Rao, General Secretary, Kalamkari Welfare Association blamed the artisans for failing to market their products. “The problem is not that the central government has not provided us with the GI tag. We can advertise the GI tag ourselves by labelling our products but nobody does that.”The Common Facility Center, which was to be built two years ago, has also been left half-constructed in Pedana, Srinivas said.