Bihar: Experts, weavers hopeful of fastrecovery in handloom industry

NATIONAL HANDLOOM DAY

Patna/Bhagalpur/Madhubani: The rich handloom sector in Bihar with several globally acclaimed art forms, such as Sujani and Sikki, has though been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the weavers as well as experts are hopeful of a speedy recovery in the coming months with gradual opening of markets along with emphasis on ‘swadeshi’ products.

Sanjay Shrivastava, director of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)- Patna, where every student is required to approach and study different handloom clusters in Bihar for two weeks every year, said initiatives like cotton face masks helped the weavers survive the lockdown.

“Markets are gradually opening up with unlocking of the economy, which has led to slight surge in demand for handloom products. Bihar’s handloom products, including those made using art forms like Sujani and Sikki, fetch very high demand in global market. Thus, weavers in Bihar can hope of speedy recovery from the financial crisis witnessed during the last few months,” Sanjay told TOI on the occasion on National Handloom Day on Friday.

He added around 5,000 handloom weavers in state own looms. “The different handloom clusters in Bihar include Bhagalpur, Madhubani, Gopalganj, Nalanda, Patna City and Gopalganj. The handloom sector in Bihar is male dominated and inclusion of women folks is needed for growth of this sector,” Sanjay said.

Bhagalpur handloom weavers engaged in Khadi, linen, Tussar and staple cotton fabric industries are a harried lot owing to Covid-19 pandemic and they have sought financial support from state and central governments.

“Abject poverty has forced the weaving community to shift to some engagements like making of face masks, hand towels (cotton gamcha) and other small articles in order to eke out a living,” said Alim Ansari, secretary of Resham Bunkar Khadi Evam Gramodyog Sangh (RBKEGS). “But it is not enough to feed thousands of handloom and power loom workers here,” he added.

Alok Agarwal, general secretary of Eastern Bihar Industries Association (EBIA), said the handloom is labour intensive industry and manufacturing is mostly based on the skills of the weavers unlike in power loom. “The handloom products are costly as they are manufactured by hands on the traditional looms and need to be preserved. The state and central governments can support by providing financial assistance and giving a platform for the sale of handloom products at proper price,” he said.

In Madhubani, Khasthinath Jha, secretary of Gram Vikas Parishad, a prominent non- government organisation engaging more than 800 artists, said there was practically no work for last about four months due to Covid pandemic. “The income of artists has been badly affected, but the demand for Madhubani masks has been there,” he said.

Krishna Kant Jha, a prominent artist of Jitwarpur village, which was declared ‘kala gram’ by government of India, said artists are the worst hit by the pandemic.

Narendra Narayan Singh Nirala, an academic, urged the government to take steps for artists of Mithila painting in these difficult times.