Suicide deaths on rise in Maniabandha as Govt apathetic attitude towards weavers' continues

Bhubaneswar: Weavers of Maniabandha, some 85 kilometer away from Cuttack city, famous for its elegant silk, cotton sarees and Buddhism as a practising religion, committing suicide due to the apathetic attitude of the State Government, particularly the Textile and Handloom Department. Eleven days back, one weaver Bata Patra(65) committed suicide while taking NaNo3, which is being used for tie and dye (Ikat). Family sources said, Patra after falling to maintain his family, committed suicide. As per the reports available from 1990 to 2007, as many as 140 weavers have been committed suicide after falling to maintain their families with a paltry daily income in the Heritage village of Maniabandha. According to the locals, as many as 10 to 15 weavers have been committing suicide every year as they are not getting their real wages out of their profession. Out of some 12,000 population of Maniabandha, more than 8,000 people basically depend on the weaving related work but the steps taken by the State Government as well as the Central Government is not reaching to the real beneficiaries and all funds have been defalcated midway. More than 1,100 primary weavers' co-operative societies are being registered under Boyanika as shareholders but according to payment list of last seven months beginning from January, 2007 to June, 2007, only 20 to 30 societies are being regularly transacting business with Boyanika while no records on the other societies found. It may be noted here that, at the last entrepreneur week celebration day, Textile and Handloom Commissioner Anita Agnihotri had said that as many as 500 PWCSs and 1,000 SHGs groups are being active and working under Boyanika. Meanwhile, several leading weavers of Maniabandha on Sunday said that if such attitude of the State Government continues for some time now, the heritage village will soon tuned out to be suicide ground for the weavers' communities, who have been struggling to save their age old profession. "If we complain, then we face the wrath of the Government officers and the condition of more than 8,000 weavers might not be expressed in words," Sadashiva Chanda, a master weaver said. He further said that only society in Maniabandha also not functioning properly. According to sources, lakhs of rupees have been given jointly by the State and Centre for Handloom development of Maniabandh but not a single penny has been spent for the said purpose. The excellent designs and texture of the Maniabandha silk sarees that has got a global market today speaks volumes of the centuries old textiles legacy of the place.