DHARMAPURI: Artisans in Adhiyamankottai who are involved in the manufacture of clay statues of Lord Ganesh ahead of the annual Vinayagar Chathurthi celebrations have sought the administration permission to use tractors for transporting clay to their workshop. Artisans stated, they are only permitted to use bullock carts to transport clay.
In Adhiyamankottai, over 150 families are involved in the traditional manufacture of clay idols of Lord Ganesh ahead of Vinayakar Chathurthi. While clay is available in the local lakes across the district in abundance, the artisans are only permitted to move this clay via bullock carts.
"The use of bullock carts is inefficient and time consuming, it also impacts productivity. The use of tractors greatly helps in amassing more clay."
Speaking to TNIE, P Murugan, a veteran artisan in Adhiyamankottai said, "The use of bullock carts was to keep people from over exploiting the lake ecosystem. It is a necessary check needed to protect lakes. But currently, in dozens of lakes across the districts, people are are allowed to extract 'Vandal Mann' using tractors. Clay is the most crucial element for clay pottery or statue making. We demand the same permits and use of tractors. The use of bullock carts is expensive and time consuming."
Another artisan, S Raja said, "It costs us about Rs 1,000 per day to hire a bullock cart and we can get maybe 500 kg of clay. If tractors are allowed, we can collect over 2 to 3 tonnes of clay. Multiple artisan families could share the cost, this little saving could greatly help us. The sales of traditional clay dolls and pottery are dying and this little effort could reduce expenditure for us."
K Sanmugapriya said, "We make clay images of Vinayagar in the size between 2 metre to 7 metre. Based on order, the commonly sold varieties are about a metre tall which we sell for Rs 750 per piece. On an average day, we can make about four or five statues. In a week, there are times we need to employ carts twice or even thrice, if the order is sizable. So we lose money every trip. So we seek permission to use tractors. So, our work has not slowed down."
When TNIE reached out to officials in the DRDA they said, "The use of bullock carts is a policy decision to ensure lakes are protected. Further, by using tractors, we will not be able to differentiate illegal mining. It is a bit inconvenient, but these artisans can take as much clay as they need, without any disruptions."
