Weavers weepy over dearth of demand

Ishwardi (Pabna) Correspondent :

Fasting is near to over soon. Eid is knocking at the door. But there is almost no buyer for Eid shopping. Banarsi traders say that the crowd is less in these intense hot days in Ishwardi. Earlier buyers used to come from far away to Banarsi village. But this Eid sees that a little of buyers look for sarees.
The sellers said that in the hope that the business will gather in the end, they have brought the traditional desi Bahari sarees in consideration of the buyers’ ability. In these sarees, the traditions of the country have been revealed by the skillful hands of the artisans.
However, several sellers expressed disappointment and said that there is no sale. They say that with the change of time, women’s interest in buying sarees has decreased compared to before. Many buyers have already gone to India for Eid shopping. As a result, the expected buyers are not available during the Eid festival. Again, many shopkeepers said that they have given up hope of the Eid market. They are now more concerned about the salaries of employees than meeting the needs of family members. Sellers said that such a situation has never happened at this time compared to other years.
Ishwardi Banarasi village has no desired buyers for Eid shopping. On the occasion of Eid, sarees of different colors and designs have been brought up in every showroom. Market stalls are decorated to attract buyers, but there are no buyers in the countryside. What is there is very little compared to other years. In the meantime, a small number of customers have been observed in a couple of shops. Some are again looking at different shops to see the products they like. If you get a bargain, many people are doing the shopping. Traders said that India and Pakistan sell georgette, katan, benarni net and catalog sarees for the Eid market. Desi Banarsi and Katan are beating these cheap and low quality sarees at comparable prices.
On the surface, it can be seen that the artisans are not busy during Eid. The artisans of Banarasi village are spending idle time in this Eid season as well. They said that the demand for Banarasi sarees has decreased due to the gradual increase in the price of yarn and the availability of Indian sarees in the country’s market. So they have to spend idle time.
But the Banarasi sarees made by the weavers here were widely appreciated for the perfect weaving by skilled artisans. Banarasi village is now under threat due to the increase in the price of yarn, labor crisis and the impact of Indian sarees in the domestic market after the corona epidemic, said the moneylenders of the weavers.
The financiers said that once there were 450 Banarasi factories here. Thousands of artisans were involved in this work. Now only 50 factories are in operation. In Indian sarees, the domestic market is losing money and gradually increasing the prices of textile materials including yarn, chumki, many people are gradually withdrawing from the textile industry due to losses.
Wakil Alam, president of Banarasi Tanti Samiti, said, ‘The demand for Banarasi sarees every year on Eid is not 70 per cent this time. Most of the looms have stopped. But the quality of Banarasi sarees made by the artisans here is very good. So the price is higher than other sarees. Many have been forced to close the factories due to not getting fair price for sarees. Craftsmen are also leaving this profession.