Electronic Jakkat Maggams Ease Weavers’ Hardship

Nalgonda: Traditional maggams — the handloom weaving equipment — fitted with electronic 'jakkat' systems and ‘lifters’ are easing the physical hardship of weavers, who are involved in cloth weaving. Twelve electronic jakkat maggams — set up with financial assistance from the Union textiles ministry—installed by a weaver at Chandur in Nalgonda district and are yielding positive results.

While working on traditional maggams, of handloom units, weavers are required to use both legs and both hands simultaneously, which causes significant physical strain. Two legs are used to operate 'Pakal' wooden plates, one hand to manage the ‘sunchu’ (a rope used to operate the loom), and the other hand to handle the ‘sattar’, which helps in bringing out the required design.

Due to this strenuous process, weavers often develop musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), including joint pain and arthritis. The introduction of electronic jakkat systems with lifters enables weavers to operate maggams without compromising the quality or authenticity of traditional weaving.

With this system, the maggam can be operated using a single leg and one hand instead of both legs and hands.

In the traditional jakkat system, weavers take four to five days to fix cards according to the sari design. However, electronic jakkat eliminates the need for card settings. The sari design, prepared on a computer using specialised software, is stored on a chip and inserted into the controller unit.

Earlier, due to the time-consuming process of fixing plates in traditional jakkat systems, weavers preferred producing multiple saris with a single design. With electronic jakkat, they can now weave each sari with a different design, increasing market demand for their products.

The Union textiles ministry is offering electronic jakkat systems at a subsidised price of Rs 30,000 per unit, against their market price of around Rs 1.15 lakh.

Balaji of the Weavers Service Centre said that 20 electronic jakkat maggams have been installed across Telangana. He added that efforts are underway to create awareness among weavers about the new system.

Master Weaver Chilukuri Srinivas said he has set up 12 electronic jakkat maggams, all of which were geo-tagged by the textiles department of the state government. He said the saris woven on electronic jakkat maggams are identical to those produced on traditional maggams and that he has not faced any issues with the system.

Karnati Narsimha, a weaver working on an electronic jakkat maggam, said that physical labour is significantly reduced compared to traditional maggams. He added that the time taken to weave a sari is also less, which has helped improve incomes.