Thirubuvanam sarees losing out to GenNext rivals
With Rs 102 crore worth of products getting piled up for want of genuine buyers specialised weavers of the still-existing handloom sarees are seeking serious attention from government to pull them out of dire straits
TIRUCHY: The invasion of power loom products in the textile industry, the non-availability of rebates for the customers, and poor support from the government have resulted in the piling up of traditional Thirubuvanam handloom sarees, which have gone unsold so far.
The sarees valued up to Rs 102 crore, the highest ever in the history of the Thirubuvanam Silk Handloom Weavers Co-operative (THICO) Society established in 1955, have hit a roadblock.
The weavers who have depended on this for generations fear that this industry might witness a closure one day and have started appealing to the government for support at least to ensure their livelihood.
According to tradition, the weavers from the Saurashtra community had settled in Thirubuvanam to make sarees of various designs as per the request by the erstwhile rulers like Nayak and Serfoji kings. These weavers were known for innovation in designs as suggested by the rulers.
These weavers, even today, are good at weaving handloom sarees, and now, with 1,800 memberships, the THICO Society through which the silk sarees are marketed has around 1,500 looms maintained by more than 1,500 families.
These workers undertake weaving with raw materials distributed through THICO Society and weave silk sarees ranging between Rs 7,000 and Rs 1.50 lakh depending on the quality and designs.
Usually, they sell sarees worth Rs 50 crore every month through as many as 28 branches across the State. However, presently except for a few in Madurai and Karaikudi, others suffer, due to poor sales.
“Earlier we were given raw materials for at least 60 sarees per year through the societies but presently, we are given material for just six sarees for 110 days which could be completed within 45 to 50 days and the rest of the days, we sit idle with no business and earning and now, we are allotted the raw materials for the maximum of 18 sarees citing the poor sale,” G Manimurthy, the Secretary of Silk Saree Weavers’ Association told DT Next.
He claims that the sale dropped due to the encroachment of powerlooms in place of handlooms. “The products by the powerloom comparatively cost less than the handloom sarees and at the same time there is less rebate in the handloom products. For the past several years, the condition persists and we have been keeping on approaching both Centre and State governments but nothing is heard,” Manimurthy said.
Meanwhile NB Nagendran, THICO Society secretary (CITU) told DT Next that rebates in the products play a crucial role in the sale of the handloom sarees.
“The government should lift the sealing of the rebate and announce a 30 per cent rebate. When Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, she announced a 30 per cent rebate. Since then, no one cared to provide the rebate which will resurrect the dying ancestral employment,” he said.
He said that usually Rs 50 crore worth of sarees would be in the backlog but now, due to various reasons, the stocks worth Rs 102 crore have been piled up across the branches.
Nagendran also said that the price of the raw materials had gone steeply high but the life standard of the weavers has not improved.
“The silk yarn was sold at Rs 3,600 per kg till 2022 but now, it has increased to Rs 7,000 per kg. While the 240 grams (set of four bobbins) zari was sold at Rs 11,000 now it is sold at Rs 18,000, so the production cost increases. On the whole, the price of pure silk sarees is based on the gold and silver rate in the market,” Nagendran said.
He appealed to the government to look at the plight of the silk saree weavers and uplift them by fulfilling their demands.
“We need a permanent Managing Director for us so that he might speak for us otherwise, the silk saree weavers should find new jobs which we need to learn from the basics,” added Nagendran.