India : Silk weavers await Govt assistance for survival

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Silk weavers await Govt assistance for survival

02
Apr '08

Bhagalpur, one of the largest silk producing regions in India is waiting for the Government to take measures to improve their conditions.

The silk industry of Bhagalpur employs around 30,000 weavers and has an annual turn over of about Rs200 crore. Silk from this region is exported to all the major cities in India and even to Europe, America and Australia.

Handloom is the main source of employment in the region and unfortunately, weavers are facing challenging times even for ensuring a hand to mouth existence.

Problems like financial crisis, lack of silk fibre and inadequate marketing infrastructure have been haunting the weavers for a long time.

Lengthy procedure for sanctioning loans and corruption in the distribution channel is forcing weavers to borrow money from private moneylenders who in turn makes the most of their helpless situation.

Besides, insufficiency of silk fibre compels them to buy foreign silk which is continuously affecting the uniqueness of the Indian silk industry.

Moreover, weavers cannot do without depending on the middlemen for marketing their goods and the latter takes full advantage of this to ensure that they a huge share of the profits.

In fact many a times, weavers also have to surrender to the demands of these middlemen and allow them to sell the products at a price of their own choice. To the extent that it is these contractors, who decide the quality of the goods.

Weavers are looking at the Government as the sole rescuer and awaits for the authority to take concrete steps to get them out of this situation.

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