Saturday, Apr 20, 2002
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Andhra Pradesh
By Our Special Correspondent
A relatively prosperous silk town now tells a different story with weavers on the roads resorting to relay hunger strike to highlight the crisis in the weaving industry. The weavers of the town, both in the cooperative fold and outside, hold a stock of handloom cloth worth about Rs 10 crores with APCO pleading inability to market it. The crisis is mainly brought about by the accumulated stocks and shrinking markets. APCO is not lifting the stocks from the weavers here for the past five years. And to make matters worse, a customs duty of 8 per cent was slapped on the sales of handloom cloth with effect from March 1, 2002, and all the weavers have been asked to register themselves with the sales tax authorities, paying Rs 500 and a fixed deposit of Rs 2000. ``The unhelpful attitude of the Government is killing our only livelihood'', the weavers complained to a team of visting Congress leaders led by the APCC chief spokesman, K. Rosaiah. The Congress-I leaders visited the office of the weavers' community and the houses of the six weavers who died recently, to console their families. Monetary relief of Rs 5000 and 50 kg. of rice to each of these families was announced by the party. Later, addressing a meeting of the weavers, they criticised the imposition of taxes on the weaving community and the failure of APCO to market their produce. On the Ugadi day (April 13), Pottabathini Govind ended his life by hanging, unable to feed his family of six. His loans accmulated to over Rs 16,000 and the two looms in his house did not yield any income. Most weavers live in poor conditions unable to eke out a living from their traditional avocation. The master weavers, who employ them, are no better. There are about 3000 handloom weavers in the town. Of them, 800 are in the cooperative fold as members of the primary weavers cooperative societies, while others come outside the APCO network and are expected to fend for themselves to market their produce. "The crisis has been brought about with the APCO, the nodal agency, pleading helplessness to market our produce," said an elderly weaver Balaiah. APCO currently holds a stock of Rs 50 crores and it has virtually stopped all its marketing activity, preparatory to its closure, Mr.Rosaiah alleged. Weavers on hunger strike are demanding an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh each to the affected families and patent rights to them on the tie and dye designs. One of the serious problems faced by the handloom industry, mainly the producers of the famous Pochampalli silk sarees here, is the practice of the textile mills "to appropriate our designs, print them liberally and sell their produce at a throwaway price.'' "A sari with a particular print costs Rs 2000 for a Pochampally weaver. But a copied version is sold by the miller at Rs 300 to Rs 500. This has posed a serious threat to our industry," the master weaver complained.
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