Potters rue lack of assistance as rain plays spoilsport ahead of Pongal
SIVAGANGA: While this year's Pongal preparation is under way in full swing, the grievances of potters are yet to be addressed despite submitting repeated petitions to the authorities.
According to the potters, one of the major grievances is the government not taking measures to issue more membership cards, which plays a significant role in availing rain relief and relaxations on taking silt from neighbouring taluks, among others.
Speaking to TNIE, Karuppusamy, state president of Agila Indiya Kulalar Munnetra Ammaippu Sara Manpandam, Sengal Tholilalargal Nala Sangam said there are a few lakh people engaged in pottery works across the state. Of them, only one lakh have potter membership cards, and the number of card holders has not increased, despite many card holders passing away over time.
"Only with the potter membership card can the workers obtain rain relief from the state government," Karuppusamy added.
Highlighting the recent rain in the locality, which affected the timely commencement of pot-making for Pongal, and a dull Karthigai season in 2024, a potter from Manamadurai said, "The relief amount of Rs 5,000, which was fixed by the AIADMK government in 2015, has not been changed in spit of hike assurances from the ruling government."
While welcoming the state government's decision to simplify the process to collect free silt from the waterbodies via applying online, the potter further said it actually made the process more complex. Initially, the collection of silt was authorised by the tahsildar. However, now after applying online, we have to take the processed applications again to different officers for approval, he said.
Another potter from Thirupuvam said the waterbodies for collecting silt can only be selected from the same taluk of the applicant. For instance, there are three villages in Manamadurai of Sivaganga district that are located just 2-3 km away from Ramanathapuram district, from where potters used to collect silt earlier. However, due to the new norms, they would not be able to collect silt even from other taluks of the same district.
"All waterbodies of the same taluk are not suitable for pot-making. Moreover, the local body and residents of the locality often oppose collecting silt for their area," said the potter.
Meanwhile, Karuppasamy said they have submitted letters to the state government and are awaiting a positive response. A senior official sought time to look into the issue.