KENDRAPARA: Just as the handloom sector was looking up at the path of revival three months back post Covid-19 first wave, it has once again been hit by the second wave crisis. A steep surge in cases, lockdown, restrictions on movement of people and vehicles from other states and unavailability of raw materials have aggravated the problems of around 5,000 weavers in the district.
The looms have fallen silent again as several weavers are now not keen on weaving sarees, lungis, dhotis and towels, said Ajaya Behera, a weaver of Kusuipala village on the outskirts of Kendrapara town. While raw material availability has always been a concern, even marketing the existing products keeps haunting the weavers.
For the weavers, marriages and festivals provide an opportunity to earn more but the ongoing restrictions have adversely affected the sales of handloom products especially sarees in the district. “The weaving industry is already marred by several problems and the virus has only worsened it,” said Harekrushna Das, president of weavers’ cooperative society of Kusuipala.
Several weavers, a few months back, weaved large numbers of sarees and other items just as the situation was improving but the second wave has made a huge dent on sales. The second wave is likely to have a greater impact on sales due to rise in infections in rural areas. Tapan Das of Korua village said he used to sell sarees, dhotis, lungis and gamchhas in the local market but he stopped weaving a month back. With cloth shops now closed, there are no takers for his products.
Deputy director of Handloom and Textile department, Indramani Kandi said the State government last year had granted `15 crore to Boyanika and `1 crore to Odisha Tussar Federation SERIFED (Odisha Cooperative Tassar & Silk Federation Limited ) to purchase products from the weavers to mitigate their plight. “We had purchased products from the weavers and are committed to help them during the second wave,” he said.