Hyderabad: Idol makers left in lurch

Hyderabad: With no buyers in sight, as the city under lockdown and with all festivities prohibited, Durga and Ganesh murtikaars (idol makers) are left without work and any hope for sales this year.

Many of these idol makers and artisans residing in the city, especially in Dhoolpet area, are a worried lot. In all probability, the government may not allow mass gathering this year and they fear loss in business.

The continuous series of festivals that starts from March to November has kept the sector marked despite shrinking profit margins in the past years. The profit made from one year was used by the idol industry the subsequent year.

Speaking to The Hans India, Kailash Singh Hazari, the vice-president of Telangana Ganesh Idol Makers Welfare Association, said: "There are around 200 murtikaars who rely on idol making and more than 5,000 workers come every year to work in the workshops from different cities of UP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Bengal. Due to the lockdown, the production will be less but till now we haven't received any instructions from the government related to making of the idols, so we have stopped production until we hear from them."

Mostly, the process of making the idols starts from January and they later take advance bookings from April or May. Kailash adds, "We have received many calls asking for bookings, but we had to say them no. The government is concerned about Khairatbadbad Ganesh more but, I would like to highlight here that this is not a small job. There are thousands of people relying on this and the government should soon come up with some solution."

He further said, "But despite the work of artisans, Dhoolpet is is infamous for the sales of ganja and illicit liquor. The police treat all of us as criminals. The bad name of the area has weakened us politically and there is no respect for the artists here."

Sachin Singh, an idol maker who resides and has his workshop 'Rajan Singh Murthy Kalakar' in Dhoolpet, said, "I had to borrow money at 3% interest as this year to invest Rs 3 lakh. The workers who used to work in making the idols have also left for their native places in special trains."

"We stock up on jute and Plaster of Paris in the summer, these are perishable goods and so the prices go up during the monsoon. But work that was to start has not yet started and the raw material is at risk of exposure to rain. Storing materials have also become a problem for many people as they have to pay rent when no work is going on," adds Sachin.