Chennai: The weaving industry of Anakaputhur, known for producing sarees from natural fibres, has now come to a standstill in the wake of COVID-19 situation. Once a hub of 3,000 weaving units, Natural Fibre Weavers Association of Anakaputhur has now shrunk to 100 small units. Lack of adequate income and assistance from the government has left an uncertainty looming over the heads of the weavers. The coronavirus-induced lockdown has added to the woes of the weaving units with employees claiming that they have not received any aid from the state government. With the pandemic and transportation ban, it has become difficult for the weavers to procure the yarn.
The multi-coloured sarees are not only in huge demand in India but also in other countries. However, the industry is suffering huge losses as they have not received much support from the central and the state government. Lack of operating space has also emerged as one of the biggest problems for the weaving industry.
Shekar, President of the Natural Fibre Weavers Association, has urged the Central and State Government to provide them with subsidies and facilities to develop the industry and restore their livelihood.
The industry also gifted Prime Minister Narendra Modi a shawl made out of 25 natural fibres on his birthday along with a petition that the industry is at a standstill and there are insufficient rooms for it to operate.
He added, “Around 3000 looms were operating in Anakaputhur about 10 years ago which have now dwindled to just 100. Most of the industries are shrinking due to inadequate income and assistance from the Government."
"I’ve been in the industry for around 30 years. Chengalpattu is the only place in India where handloom sarees are made from natural fibres. We also travel to the northern states to train handloom weavers on how to weave natural fibres," he said.
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WHAT ARE THE WEAVERS' GRIEVANCES?
The lack of industrial space has been a major constraint in the development of the industry and to set up a handloom cluster station. The Government is ready to provide the industry with MSME loans and weaving equipment but the lack of space has become a hindrance to such provisions. This program will help to increase employment opportunities, especially for women, to earn between Rs. 300 and Rs. 400 per day.
“We receive many orders from different parts of India as well as from other countries. However, we find it difficult to complete the orders due to lack of space. The industry was affected by the 2015 floods and later recovered from it. But, now the pandemic has affected the industry for the past 6 months and sales have also come down to a great extent due to the lockdown. We are not in a position to buy raw materials in large bulk. The State Government had announced Rs. 2000 as a relief for weavers, but we haven’t received any kind of relief yet," said one of the weavers.
"We request the Central as well as the State Government to provide us with a subsidy of Rs 5 Lakhs. Through this, we would be able to improve our livelihood, expand the industry and provide employment opportunities to youngsters," he said.
A number of petitions have been filed with the District Collector of Kanchipuram for the past eight years. Recently, we filed a fresh petition with Chengalpattu's district collector. We request DM Mr John Louis to take necessary action and address our grievances.
"We have been filing petitions for the same with the District Collector of Kanchipuram for the past eight years. Now, we have filed a petition with the District Collector of Chengalpattu. We request the District Collector of Chengalpattu, Mr John Louis, to take necessary actions.” he added.
WHY IS ANAKAPUTHUR WEAVING INDUSTRY FAMOUS?
The Natural Fibre Weavers Association in Anakaputhur is famous across the nation to create sarees with natural fibres, fruit, bamboo and aloe vera fibre. The sarees are then infused with herbs and then dyed using colours extracted from vegetables and fruits.
The weavers in the Anakaputhur weaving industry have been engaged in this profession for the past 15 years. Multi-coloured sarees are made out of natural fibres and bananas, bamboo, aloe vera and pineapple. The natural fibres are soaked in dyes which are extracted from neem leaves, turmeric, sandalwood, fruits and vegetables. No chemicals are used in the process of making sarees and they are infused with herbs which helps in curing skin diseases.
The weavers of Anakaputhur have received many certificates for their hard work. The National Research Centre for Banana certified them for being the first weaving industry to weave sarees out of banana fibre in India. Apart from sarees, garments like shirts and churidars are also woven from natural fibres.
More than 80 locals of Anakaputhur are part of the Natural Fibre Weavers Association. The sarees are priced between Rs.1,200 to Rs.7,500 and it takes about three days to weave one saree. They earn between Rs. 7,000 and Rs. 10,000 per month.
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