Cottage industries making chalk pieces on Melur Road in Tiruchi have lost a lot of business as schools and colleges have taken to e-learning this academic year. While many units have closed, those still running hope for a boost to sales with the re-opening of schools and colleges scheduled for later this month.
The clanking of metal plates used to shape chalk into the cylindrical shape has become feeble. With the lockdown imposed to curb COVID-19 during what they call their peak business period, many units were forced to shut. The dry summers are when a large amount of chalk can be made. “We have borrowed huge sums to run our business; with the lockdown and the closure of schools and colleges, which are our major source of income, we are apprehensive of our future,” said M. Govindaraj, owner of Gayathri Enterprises, a chalk piece-making unit.
Mr. Govindaraj reopened his unit 20 days ago with just three employees. “My wife, along with two other women, works at the unit now. Before the lockdown, eight persons, including two men, were employed with us,” he said.
He could not afford to pay salaries and had to let the workers go. “We were paying them once in 15 days earlier, but now we are forced to sell some of my wife’s jewels and tap into our savings to make ends meet,” he said.
G. Jayanthi, Mr. Govindaraj's wife, said that usually, 50 bundles, each having 3,600 pieces, would be sold every month. “Now, we are unable to sell even one or two bundles. Only offices and stationery shops purchase and stock them,” she said.
It has also been difficult to buy raw materials, including limestone that was usually bought from Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi, Ms. Jayanthi said. Their regular suppliers were unavailable amid the lockdown; now, they are unwilling to send the material because they are unsure of receiving payments.
A long-standing demand of the manufacturers to subsidise kerosene, which is used to lubricate the metal moulds, is yet to be considered. “The State government must heed our plea as we cater to the needs of educational institutions,” she said. “With the monsoon setting in, opening the unit is a big risk, but we need to eat,” she said.
After the government announced the re-opening of higher secondary schools and colleges, the manufacturers are hopeful. “We have slowly begun to make and stock the product. However, we are yet to receive any order,” Ms. Jayanthi said.
