To help the weaving community in distress amidst the pandemic, the State government plans to buy saris from weavers and distribute them among corona warriors like ASHAs and anganwadi workers, Textile Minister Srimant Patil has said.
Mr. Patil says the government would spend around ₹35 crore to buy six lakh sarees from weavers and distribute them among three lakh corona warriors in the State.
While some weavers support the idea and say that it would help them, others point out that similar attempts earlier have failed, as the method of procurement is not spelt out clearly. Gajanan Gunjeri, president of the State Weaver’s Association, supports the government plan and argues this is the only way to deal with unsold stock. But others like Gurulingappa Gombi, leader of Hatkar Nekar Samaj, say it might end up helping merchants and middlemen.
Mr. Gunjeri told The Hindu that he had requested the Minister to buy all unsold stock by spending at least ₹200 crore. “But, he announced the plan to buy six lakh sarees. We are happy about it,” he said. He hoped the government would make such procurement a regular feature.
“If the government can buy foodgrains and vegetables when prices fall, why can’t it buy saris and cloth which have no market? We want the government to set up a revolving fund for cloth purchase, on the lines of the fund for farm produce,” he said.
However, Mr. Gombi is sceptical about such measures as he feels they only help merchants.
“In 2008-09, the State government distributed saris to rural women and SHG members. However, they were not procured from the State weavers directly. They were purchased from merchants and middlemen in Surat and Mumbai. We complained to the government then. But nothing happened. We suggested that the government buy from weaver’s cooperatives. But that was not heeded to. We are not enthused about the Minister’s statement, at least till he assures that the procurement will be made directly from weavers,” he said.
Ashok Chandaragi, convener of Federation of Kannada Organisations, said the government should put in place systems and processes to ensure there is transparency in the procurement process.
“It should make use of advanced technology tools to ensure this. The State government has been using mobile applications for tasks like land mapping, crop loss estimation, sale of horticulture produce, and milk procurement. Similar tools can be developed for cloth purchase from individual weavers and groups of weavers,” he said.
