Hyderabad: Pandemic leaves weavers hanging by a thread

Hyderabad: Second lockdown hit the Pochampally weavers once again. According to members of the Handloom Weavers' Society, there have been no buyers for their products for the past few months. The Weaved material is piled up in the store resulting in no income.

Venkatesh Mena, a weaver of Boduppal said, "We are facing hardship, as there is no income for the past many months, even as the Bonalu festival is a few days away.

He recalled that by this time every year weavers would be flooded with orders. "But this year we have not received any orders. Just when we were coming out of the losses incurred during the first wave and Covid-induced lockdown last year, did the second wave hit us hard. For the past one year we have been requesting the State government to provide relief to the weaver community, but so far we have received any help".

M Ramesh, another weaver of Boduppal stated, "Before the pandemic I used to earn around Rs 15,000-20,000. But the Covid restrictions for two consecutive years have worsened the conditions of weavers. Also, there are no takers for our old stocks."

"I am in a dilemma as to how we weavers would eke out our living in the wake of prolonged Covid pandemic. Also, no financial assistance is provided by the State government. It would be better if it purchases Pochampally sarees on humanitarian grounds, so that the stocks will be cleared and we wavers could get some support," he added.

Cherku Swamy, a member of the society of LB Nagar, pointed out that all weavers across the State are facing the same plight, be it an individual or workers of a loom. There are around 22,000 handlooms in the State. In Hyderabad there are around 1,000 weavers. "Everyone is struggling to tackle the situation. There are no buyers. This year we have not received any orders for the Bonalu festival. The government has not extended any support to our community. It would be better if it looks into our problems seriously," Swamy asserted.