Poor sale of Tangail sari upsets traders
The traders of traditional handloom sari in the district are frustrated due to its poor sale ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
During a visit to Karatia in Sadar upazila and Jokarchar in Kalihati upazila a couple of days ago, this correspondent found very few buyers at the traditional sari markets.
“Although saris worth about Tk 4 to Tk 5 crore are sold here every week ahead of the Eid and Puja, this time it has come down to two-third,” said Farid Miah, a sari trader at Karatia market.
The weavers produce beautiful saris with various colours as the demand rises especially ahead of Eid-ul-Fitre, Eid-ul-Azha and Durga Puja.
The well-known sari producing spots include Dhulutia, Bazitpur, Suruj, Bartha, Bamonkushia, Gosaijoir, Taratia, Enayetpur, Belta, Gorasin, Santosh and Kagmari in Sadar upazila, Pathrail, Chandi, Nalua, Deojan, Nolshodha, Bishnupur, Mongolhor in Delduar, Balla, Rampur, Chhatihati, Aishjora, Ratanganj, and Kokdohora in Kalihati upazila.
They produce ordinary handloom saris as well as expensive ones, keeping in view the demands of people from all classes.
The prices range from Tk 300 to Tk 10,000 or more.
Weavers in Tangail produce different qualities and kinds of saris including cotton, jute cotton, jal cotton, banarasi, jamdani, katan, silk, half silk, soft silk, gas silk, dotari silk, jute silk, khaddar, baluchuri, tosor etc.
Mominur Rahman, owner of a big handloom factory at Dhulutia in Delduar upazila, who sells his saris at different markets in the district, said the sale of Tangail sari gradually fell in the last few years due to availability of cheap low quality Indian saris at local markets.
“Besides, large quantities of saris are being produced in power looms, causing problem for handloom sari producers. On the other hand, many women in the country now prefer dresses other than sari,” he said.
Local weavers are also facing problems due to increase in prices of yarn and dye, he added.
Thousands of handlooms were already shut at different places in the district during the last few years amid abnormal price hike of sari producing materials and increasing costs of labour, electricity and transport, said several weavers and sari traders in the upazila.
They demanded that the government arrange easy-term loan facilities for the weavers and ensure uninterrupted electricity supply during the peak season to save the traditional industry.