Andhra Pradesh youth give up traditional weaving work

Pochampally (Andhra Pradesh), July 2 : The traditional weaving work is slowly dying out in Pochampally, the biggest silk and cotton-weaving center in Andhra Pradesh, as the younger generation has given up the traditional work considering the lack of profit margins and government support.The increasing rates of silk yarns resulted in the hike in prices of silk sarees, but the traditional weavers failed to reap the profits. "My father is doing this weaving work since his childhood, but his earning is not sufficient to fulfill the needs of the family. So, I don''t want to take up his profession. But I am helping him these days by working with him part time after my college," said Bhaskar, the son of a weaver.The weavers here complain that despite working for the entire day, they manage to earn just hundred rupees in a day, which is too less for them."There is no profit left in this work. We work for entire day and earn just Rs. 120-130, which is problematic. I don''t want my children to take this profession in future. Day by day this traditional work is decreasing and soon it will vanish," said P Buchibabu, a traditional weaver."It is a difficult work with more labour and less profit. The government says that they are funding for it, but nothing has been given to us as yet," he added.Backing their children, some traditional weavers said that they couldn''t take up any other profession due to lack of knowledge. However, their children have many options, which would be more profitable for them.Pochampally is a hub of Ikkat fabrics, an ancient way of creating design by tying and dying. It has come a long way from an ordinary weaving village to a popular centre for cotton and silk tie and dye. Large numbers of weavers here are engaged in creating variety of Ikkat fabrics, which is a lengthy craftwork that requires fixing of the design and pattern before the warp and weft are coloured.
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