01, Sep 2021 | CJP Team

CJP’s fact-finding team studying the impact of the Lockdown on weavers in Uttar Pradesh’s Purvanchal region, found itself in Shahpur, Azamgarh in November 2020. Here, we came across Ahmed Ansari, who weaves and sells lungis or traditional waist cloth. He told us how the increasing cost of raw materials and electricity charges as well as low sales prices had caused his business to incur heavy losses… so much so that he had to borrow money to feed his family.

“I have been in this business since 1979-80,” says Ahmed Ansari as he shows us around his karkhana (factory) that appears to be in shambles with exposed brick barely held in place by crumbling cement. “We haven’t been able to carry out repair work as our business has been operating at a loss,” explains Ansari.

CJP ran a #CJPagainstHunger effort from March-July 2020 to help people during the Covid-19 induced lockdown. Determined to deepen associations with communities like Migrant Workers, Women led Urban Poor Households, and Urban Daily-Wage earners, we launched campaigns like #MigrantDiaries and #LetMigrantsWork. CJP also launched the #CJPfellowships to empower myriad marginalised communities. The Purvanchal Weaving Industry Fact-finding initiative aims to produce a report that will become a powerful analytical and advocacy tool further leading to programmatic grassroot initiatives to battle discrimination and division. Please Donate Now to help CJP reach more such communities across India.

Increasing input cost, competition pose a challenge

“Before the lockdown, we used to get the cloth material for Rs 300-350 per kg. Now it is a whopping Rs 1,200-1,250. Add to that colouring charges of Rs 400-500 per kg,” he says, adding that electricity charges have also increased. “Earlier, it came to Rs 75 per loom, but now the government wants to hike the tariff,” he says. At the time of our visit a huge protest was going on in the region against the proposed hike in electricity tariffs.

Ansari’s son Ashfaq also joined us. The family operates the factory that has four power looms. They also have a hired worker who works on a daily wage basis. “Weavers are not only struggling due to high input costs like cost of raw material, electricity, colouring, wages, transportation etc., but also because of competition. Shopkeepers prefer selling readymade lungis that are colourful and come in more varieties. There are lungis coming in from Chennai. Those sell for Rs 250-300, while ours make Rs 150 a piece,” he told us.

Burden of debt

“During the lockdown, everything came to a grinding halt. We had to borrow money from friends and family members. We couldn’t even celebrate Eid properly. Luckily, the stock that was left over when things shut down because of the lockdown, got sold off during Ramzan,” says Ansari. He says he had to borrow Rs 40,000-50,000 mostly to feed his family.

The family also spent Rs 1,000 per powerloom to oil, repair and restart the machines. Previously they used to buy material from Mau, but now Ansari’s nephew gets it from Khalilabad. “We have our own shop, and our lungis are also sold in other shops,” says Asfaq. “It takes one and a half hours to make a two meter lungi, but that is only if we get uninterrupted power supply. That is rarely the case,” says Ansari.

“I don’t see a great future ahead if the situation continues to be like this. Now let’s see what happens to the Light Strike which is going on,” says Ansari referring to the weavers’ protest against the hike in electricity tariffs. “If our demands get fulfilled, then we can easily run our business. Otherwise we will have to shut down the factory,” he says, adding, “Now, I am too old to do any other work, perhaps my children will do something.”

Impact on family

“I have three grandsons and a granddaughter. My youngest grandson used to go to a madarsa, but now we have enrolled him in school. The granddaughter is way too young right now,” says Ansari. The education of the children was hampered. “They are too young to attend online classes,” explains Ansari. Moreover, given how the electricity supply itself is erratic, one wonders if they have proper access to wifi internet or internet access over mobile phones that also need electricity for charging.

Ashfaq is worried about his children’s future. “I have to think about my age when I look for a salaried job. But I won’t teach my children our traditional craft. My father worked in this karkhana all his life. I have also worked here. But we barely make ends meet. We were never able to save enough to even buy a small plot of land,” he laments.

Related:

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How Purvanchal’s traditional weaving industry came undone