Chennai: Weaver K. Saravanan of Pillayarpalayam in Kancheepuram had to spend half a day in the bank to exchange the scrapped Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes paid by his employer as wages for weaving a silk sari.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes has badly affected the lives of silk weavers in the world famous Kancheepuram handloom silk weaving industry.
If weavers engaged by the private players are being paid with the scrapped notes, the cooperative societies were paying the wages in the bank accounts or through cheques.
“I was paid Rs 4,000 as wage with four Rs 1,000 notes when I handed over the finished silk sari on November 14. When I asked them to pay the wages in valuable currency, I was asked to exchange it in the banks as they don’t have any other change. I had to spend half a day standing in the queue to exchange the old notes,” Mr Saravanan lamented.
To weave a silk sari, it takes a minimum of 20 days to 45 days which depends on the design and zari content. The wage would be paid the weaver after finishing a silk sari. “Standing in the long queues in the bank and ATMs will result in the weavers losing their wages,” he said.
Kancheepuram Handloom Silk and Lace Saree Manufacturers Association secretary V.K. Damodaran said, “We need at least Rs 2 lakh to meet our weekly expenses, but the bank has fixed a limit of Rs 24,000 for the overdraft accounts,” he noted.
After the Modi’s demonetisation announcement, the daily sale of silk saris has fell by 20 per cent, he said, adding that on an average the silk town records a sale of Rs 10 to Rs 15 crore a day.
T. Manickam, a weaver attached with cooperative society said that few societies were paying the wages in cash after demonetisation. “Many societies are either depositing the wages in the weaver’s bank account or issuing cheques. Now weavers have to waste their working hours by standing in the queues in the bank or ATM to take cash,” he said.
