Haryana handloom sector's growth stifled

Lack of technical knowhow has led to a decline in exports in 2008-09.

Fifty years have elapsed since the handloom industry in Panipat was established, but the state government has taken no steps to set up a special cluster for handloom units in the town. As a result, say manufacturers, the industry’s growth is being stifled.

Ramesh Verma, president of the Handloom Exports Manufacturers Association (HEMA), Panipat, one of the largest handloom manufacturers associations in Panipat with around 1,200 members, maintains that handloom units continues to operate in scattered areas in the town.

HEMA has been demanding a separate area for handloom exporters, where the units could work together and grow. “If the state government provides us with a separate area and the necessary infrastructure where handloom units could work together, it could help the industry grow by leaps and bounds.”

Verma added that the handloom industry, which helped put Panipat on the global map, is finding it hard to compete in the international market, because the government has imparted no technical knowhow to the manufacturers on quality control measures and the value-added products, which is essential to cater to international markets.

The industries department’s records show that around 2,000 handloom units in the medium and small sector are actively engaged in manufacturing products like durries, mats, table covers, bed sheets, curtains and carpets.

Three types of looms are used to make different kinds of products. While Frame looms are used for making plain as well as striped cloth, Jacquard Looms are used in producing cloth of different designs and Pit Looms are used for manufacturing heavy fabric.

The products are sold in the domestic market as well as exported to the US, Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany and Malaysia.

The industries department’s records show that handloom exports from Panipat rose from Rs 680 crores in 1999-2000 to Rs 3,000 crore in 2007-08.

The economic downturn brought exports in 2008-09 down to Rs 2,840 crore. But handloom manufacturers believe that they have the ability to bounce back provided they get the government’s support.

Ram Pratap, Executive Member of HEMA, said that if the handloom manufacturers were to compete in the international market, the government needed to guide them on the kind of products they need to make and the quality they need to maintain.

Verma also lamented that the interest of weavers, who are an integral part of the handloom industry, was being sidelined. Panipat is referred to as the “weaver’s city”, owing to the large-scale employment of weavers. The 2,000 medium and large-scale units currently provide employment to about 40,000 weavers.

The weavers are migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states, who are employed on contractual wages or a piece rate basis.

Handloom manufacturers added that despite being a weaver’s city, Panipat has failed to address the grievances of weavers. There is a weaver centre in Panipat but it is hardly of any real use for the weavers. Add to that, the absence of proper educational and medical facilities for weavers and their families makes life difficult for them.