KOPPAL: The residents of Bhagyanagar are looking for a better bhagya. Various units processing tonsured Tirupati hair have shut down their units in the town. At present, the 40-year-old industry employs a few hundred people, leaving more than 2,500 people out of work.
Thousands of women workers, who lost their jobs, have found a new lease of life with the Sarvodaya Integrated Rural Development Society stepping in to provide training in new skills and finding them employment.
The hair extension industry downed shutters for many reasons. Toxic hair waste was being dumped on the banks of Hirehalla, a tributary of the Tungabhadra river, and the only source of drinking water in North Karnataka. When the hair is burnt, it causes tuberculosis, bronchitis and other respiratory ailments in people.
Bhagyanagar’s economy took a beating when these units shut down, as at least 7-15 members from each family were involved in processing Tirupati hair, said an industry expert. For the last 30-40 years, most families were earning their livelihood cleaning and making hair extensions and wigs for exports. Each family member would process half to one kilogram of hair a day, and earn Rs 100-150. The status of 500 families turned precarious in 2015-16, when 450 of them lost their livelihoods.
However, many women now hope for a better life as beneficiaries of the Suvarna Karnataka Nutana Javali Neethi Yojane.Harshita Bedavaty and her family of seven members were left unemployed, and struggling to survive by doing odd jobs. “We didn’t know what to do. My husband started driving an autorickshaw, which was not enough for our joint family. So I joined this society to learn tailoring and garment making. I am getting a stipend of Rs 3,500 for a 45-day training course, and I hope to earn more in the coming days.”
Lakshmi and her husband Haadimane are hoping to leave their problems behind through this training, as the demand for trained tailors by garment factories is growing.
Nagaraj Desai, the society’s president said, “The hair extension business of converting Tirupati hair was a big source of livelihood for many joint families here. However, when these businesses shut down, we stepped in to provide specific skills. Till date, we have trained about 1,500-1,600 women in tailoring. We have a full-fledged training centre with advanced machinery for making garments and training tailors. In each batch, we have a substantial number of women who will be placed in garment industries. In fact, we have been able to help people in such a way that some are self-employed, while others are aided in getting jobs.”
With the focus on reaching out to people through sustainable intervention in agriculture, skill development, safe drinking water and child protection, women undergoing training hope for better days.