Valley clampdown: Local artisans suffer as work dries up

Hundreds of artisans in the Valley have been without work since August 5—the day the government removed the special status of the J&K and decided to bifurcate the state into two Union territories

Bilal Ahmad Bhat, a shawl weaver, used to make sufficient money to sustain his family of six, including three children, by weaving three to four high quality shawls in a year.

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However, this year, Bhat has no fresh orders and has not been approached by a single trade agent for a purchase since past three month.

Bhat’s situation is same as that of hundreds of artisans in the Valley who have been without work since August 5—the day the government removed the special status of the J&K and decided to bifurcate the state into two Union territories. The communication blockade and the overall shutdown, leading to fall in tourists visiting the Valley, came as a blow to the handicrafts industry which has been reeling under losses post August.

Thirty five-year-old Bhat, who lives in north Kashmir’s Singhpore village, subsequently started with carpet weaving work and expanded to shawl stitching.

“I used to do needle work on four to five shawls every year along with a friend. The cumbersome job, which is done delicately, takes about four months and fetches ₹40,000 to ₹50,000 per shawl. Since August 5, there is no order either for me or my friend,” he said.

Bhat, who also holds a small land, said villagers, especially women, used to earn money as artisans besides working in the fields. “I used to work for eight to ten hours daily. In our village there are around 200 men and women who earn their livelihood by weaving shawls and carpets.”

The villagers said the agents, who are big traders from Srinagar, used to visit the area with raw material and orders. “We only have to weave and stitch these shawls, rest is taken care of by the agent. Our shawls are sold in Srinagar and in other states at big showrooms. We always receive labour charges in advance,” Bhat added.

His friend, Aslam Lone, who also weaves shawls at Bhat’s house, said they don’t expect any fresh order in coming days. “We called our trade agent for fresh orders. He said even older shawls are unsold and asked us to wait. Most of shawls weaved by us were purchased by tourists who visit Kashmir. I think after August 5, very few tourists visited Kashmir,” he said.

After agriculture, handicrafts forms an important sector of the economy of the Jammu and Kashmir. According to figures by Kashmir’s handicrafts department, some 4 lakh artisans are associated with the sector, of which around 2 lakh are registered with the department.

INTERNET BLOCKADE ADDED TO THE WOES

Handicrafts department joint director Sajid Naqash said the sector has been in distress from past many years and the latest internet blockade has added to further decline in revenue.

“In the first two quarters of the year 2019-20, the revenue generated by the sector in the form of foreign exchange has been ₹486 crores. The second quarter is in negative as compared to last year,” Naqash said. (See Box for declining figures since 2013-14)

“There are a number of factors behind the decline but this year internet blockade played a major role ,” he said.

In the labyrinthine lanes of the old city, hundreds of artisans earn their livelihood by weaving shawls and carpets and making paper mache products, leather, Zari and needle work. Many of them are now sitting idle as demand for items has come down drastically.

Tariq Ahmad, who makes paper mache products in old city’s Nowpora, said his work has suffered immensely since the August 5 clampdown on movement and communication.

“Everything was closed and since then we have no work. The exporter who used to take stock from us has not visited during these months as he was unable to contact his customers due to lack of internet. Tourists are also not coming, so there is no demand for these products,” he said.

He said there is a huge inventory lying idle in his shop as he had taken a bulk order before August 5 which has not been dispatched yet due to shutdown.

“Money is not coming. I have a family besides four more artisans with me who are barely able to make both ends meet,” he said.

Another artisan, Mirza Altaf Hussain Beigh, 55, who has been involved in turning raw paper mache into finished product, said things have been bad for the artisans and traders associated with the handicraft industry.

“During these 3 to 4 months, everything has been affected. The production has come down from 100 to 4 to 5 pieces per month. I have earned just ₹1,200 for the past 100 days. There is 100% loss. Many of the products in my workshop are just piling up. We continue to work as we want to keep ourselves busy,” he said.

Imtiyaz Ahmad Kawoosa, a 55-year-old trader-artisan, said he is hoping for things to improve soon.

“Export can’t take place in absence of communication. People fear coming here as things are uncertain. I have sent most of the artisans working with me home for the time being. There are no orders and we have a lot of accumulated goods,” Kawoosa, who owns a workshop and a showroom in Amda-Kadal.

“We have a bank loan of lakhs of rupees and have no idea what will happen. There is no hope but we trust in God,” he added.

The Christmas and New Year used to be big occasion for artisans, especially those making paper mache products used for decorations, with bulk order making way.

“However, there are no orders this time due to the political uncertainty,’’ said a prominent dealer at city’s Polo view market. “We used to give money in advance to paper mache artisans but last three months the slump in business and political uncertainty has forced us to curtail the bulk orders to artisans and commission agents. Though agents get orders from outside.’’

NO ORDERS FROM ABROAD

Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Sheikh Ashiq, who is an exporter of handicraft products like carpets, said they have badly suffered as the orders from foreign buyers could not come due to communication blockade.

“When internet shutdown happened, all the Kashmir-based exporters were unable to receive orders which are usually in crores and provide work to artisans in about five villages.With no orders, weavers have became jobless and are forced to do meagre jobs or labour work. This has also disempowered women who form a major chunk of artisans,” he said.

SECTOR IN DISTRESS FOR PAST SOMETIME: OFFICIAL

Handicrafts director Inderjeet said the recent clampdown added to the woes of already distressed sector.

“There have been issues in the sector for past some time now. We have been attempting to address them and have some revival plans, particularly in marketing, in the offing. The trends are changing,” he said.

“We have three World Bank-funded projects and have established three cluster units related to paper mache, chain stitch and willow crafts. They were closed for some time (after August 5) but have now resumed their work,” he said.

He said Jammu and Kashmir Industries has also established a showroom in Delhi. “The artisans can display their products there as well,” he said.

Handicrafts joint director Sajid Naqash said the average revenue generated in the form of foreign exchange on handicrafts sector in the past seven years has shown a decline.

“From ₹1,695 crores of revenue in 2013-14, the number declined to ₹917 crores in 2018-19. This year, internet has been the major cause behind the loss and we hope the business will get better once normalcy gets restored,” he said.