KENDRAPARA: Ominous silence has replaced the sound of looms in at least 1,200 weaver homes after cyclone Fani struck the district. The weaver families in Dihasai, Haripur, Korua, Pundal, Atabhua, Kalaboda and Kuseapala, shattered by the cyclone, are gathering whatever remains of their homes and looms.
The looms, which have been the bread and butter for weavers for several decades, have been damaged in the storm. The cyclone has ravaged the lives of 55-year-old Abhay Sahoo and Ramachandra Sahoo of Haripur village, whose looms have been damaged.
Abhay, who has been eking out a living by spinning sarees from the handlooms for the last three decades, said his six-room mud-walled thatched house caved in and the two looms stored in it got badly damaged.
“I was earning `8,000 to `12,000 a month, but after my two looms got damaged after the house collapsed in the cyclone, I am worried about my livelihood,” said Ramachandra. “Piles of debris, including parts of looms, are now what remains of my possessions after the cyclone ravaged my village,” he added.
As most of the weavers live in mud-walled houses, all the looms stored inside have been damaged. “I cannot afford to purchase new looms,” said Rajani Sahoo of Haripur.
“The cyclone has pushed weavers into the abyss of unemployment. We plan to migrate to major textile cities like Surat, Ahmedabad and Ludhiana in search of greener pastures”, said Jajati Sahoo (43) of Kalaboda village.
“At a time when handloom weavers are struggling for survival after power looms took over the market, damage caused by cyclone has worsened the situation”, said Srikant Nayak, president of Maa Mangala Weavers’ Cooperative Society of Korua.
“Around 1,200 weavers of the district have been affected in the cyclone. We will soon furnish a list of affected weavers before the authorities. Our primary goal is to procure parts of the damaged looms and restore lives of weavers. We have started ordering for the parts locally with the hope that all artisans in the region will be back on their looms in a month or two after getting help from the authorities,” said Nayak.