Covid tears fabric of livelihood for Lakshmeshwar’s powerloom workers

It is familiar to hear the rattling sound of the powerlooms in the village of Shigli, but that was before the pandemic.

These days one hears only the sigh of exasperation of the workers and owners of the looms that, in the pre-Covid days, weaved beautiful sarees which commanded demand from as far as Bengaluru, Davangere, Dharwad, Belagavi and Bagalkot.

In short, the pandemic and the resultant lockdown have meant that the looms have fallen silent and the piles of sarees have remained unsold, tearing the very fabric of livelihood for the scores of workers here.

Hundreds of sarees used to be weaved at the tens of powerlooms in the village, where 400-500 people are employed.

But they are literally on the streets for the last one year due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Owners of the looms say that they can weave new sarees only if the old stock is cleared.

But the lockdown last year meant that the saree shops remained closed during the wedding season when the sales hit the peak, thus leading to uncleared stock.

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Also, with connectivity taking a hit in the wake of the pandemic, it became impossible to transport the sarees worth lakhs of rupees to the markets.

The situation doesn’t seem any better this year, belying all hopes of a revival.

The only saving grace is that the looms are getting specific orders for limited number of sarees this year, which means that better days can be expected by the workers and the loom owners.

The looms had completely stopped running last year.

What has added insult to injury for the looms here is the increase in prices of thread, a key raw material in the making of the sarees.

The rates have gone up from Rs 2,700-3,000 for a five-kg bundle of thread to Rs 4,600 now. The price of a saree ranges from Rs 450-500, depending on quality.

The owners say profits are far-fetched, given the bleak scenario over the last two years. Their fortunes can be revived if demands pick up in the near future.