Kendrapada: The rhythmic clicking of looms echoing through the weavers’ villages in Rasulpur block of Jajpur district has fallen silent after the recent spell of floods in river Brahmani damaged looms and houses.Around 200 weaver families in Rasulpur, Barachana, Bari, Jajpur and Dasarathpur blocks are now facing a severe livelihood crisis as the devastating deluge has damaged their houses, looms and other weaving equipment.Sunakar Gui, 48, of Chakagopalapur village in Rasulpur block, whose loom was damaged in the floodwater, said weavers like him have suffered huge losses.“The flood threw us out of our house. Both my looms were washed away after the floodwater from the Brahmani river entered our village on Aug 10,” said Suryamani Dutta, 35, of Gobindapatana village in Rasulpur block.Mahadev Das, 67, of Hingulasahi village in Rasulpur block, said he used to earn around Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 a month. “But my loom was damaged after our mud house collapsed in the gushing floodwater,” said Das.Gopabandhu Das, a weaver from Bhubanpur, said he cannot afford to run the loom anymore, and nobody even wants to rent it. Even scrap dealers are unwilling to buy it, he said.The flood has compounded an already difficult situation for hundreds of tussar silk weavers in Rasulpur block. Odisha State Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society (Boyanika) has reportedly not procured their products for the past 10 months, leaving large stocks unsold and artisans struggling to sustain their traditional craft. “Now the flood has added salt to our wounds. Weaving is our sole source of livelihood. Govt should provide financial and other assistance to flood-affected weavers to mitigate their plight,” said Sridhar Behera, president of Odisha weavers’ association.Officials said steps were being taken to assess the damage and restore weaving activities. “Our first goal is to get weavers back to their looms. We have started identifying the parts required for repairing the damaged looms. After conducting a proper survey in the flood-hit, weaver-dominated villages with the help of the district administration, we will submit a report to the director of the textile department. We will soon provide all possible assistance to the affected weavers,” said Golap Goparani Murmu, deputy director of textiles, Cuttack, hoping that the affected weavers would be able to resume work on their individual looms within a month or two.CM Mohan Charan Majhi had earlier announced on Aug 18 that Rs 5,000 each would be provided to the weavers and workers in the handicrafts and handloom sectors for purchasing damaged equipment/machinery, and Rs 5,000 each for the loss of raw materials/finished goods.
