Tuesday, November 20, 2001
PAYYANUR: The case of K. Narayani, an employee of Payyanur Khadi Centre, can well sketch the plight of the employees at the Payyanur Khadi Centre. K. Narayani, an employee for the past 39 years, was honoured with a lifetime increase of Rs 5 on her daily wage recently in recognition of her ‘outstanding services’ to the Khadi movement!
Caught between anachronistic policies of successive Governments, and the changing dress habits of society at large, the Payyanur Khadi Centre, one of the Sarvodaya weaving initiatives started during the peak of Independence movement in various parts of the country, now fights for its very survival.
Started in 1930 under the leadership of Shri N P Raghava Poduval, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, the Payyanur Khadi Centre (PKC) was instrumental in providing employment opportunities to many a people residing in Kannur and Kasargod districts.
More than 2,000 weavers, working with various sub-centres of PKC, and their families are reeling under severe financial crisis as a result of the heavy losses incurred to the PKC following the failure of the Central and State Governments in clearing the pending arrears of this weaving society.
The State Government is yet to reimburse it 5 crore Rupees, on account of various festival rebates announced during the last few years. The ten per cent festival rebate on all Khadi products announced by Central Khadi Commission also came as a bolt from the blue to the PKC as the central agency decided recently to pay the rebate amount to local societies not in terms of money but as materials. Forcible allocation of unwanted materials and machines resulted ultimately in the piling up of various textile manufacturing devices, not suitable to the requirements of the 106 Khadi weaving units functioning under PKC. In addition to this, bandage cloths worth Rs 1.10 crore remain unsold at the depot of Payyanur Khadi Centre, thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the State Health Department.
The Health Department had earlier promised that it would purchase bandage cloths for the requirements of various public health institutes in the State only from units functioning under Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board (KKVIB), to which the PKC was affiliated. Moreover, yarns worth 2 crore Rupees remain unsold at the central depot of Payyanur Khadi Centre at present.
The centre now finds it difficult to make even monthly payments to more than 120 of its administrative staff. In addition, as many as 16 persons work at the Central office as casual employees. Except for a monthly non-plan fund allocation of Rs 79,000 to meet the salary requirements of top officials, the State Government had stopped all financial assistance to the industry. Almost all the weaving workers of PKC remain on the verge of starvation and poverty death as they get mere Rs 20 as daily wage. They have no other benefits as PF, gratuity or increments.
The female workers of the Centre, comprising 75 per cent of the total work force, are a de-moralised lot as they find it difficult to make ends meet. A large section of male workers, who mastered the craft of handweaving ‘pure desi’ cloth, a leitmotif of the freedom movement, were forced to become coolies at nearby villages in the absence of a proper earning out of Khadi. ‘‘The Government is yet to introduce the Minimum Wages Act in Khadi sector. The workers have no access to Employees State Insurance (ESI) benefits either.
‘‘The Government also failed to remit its contribution to the Khadi Workers’ Welfare Fund, which was started a few years back,’’ as per C Krishnan, general secretary of Khadi Workers’ Association. Failure on part of authorities to change in tune with the times has also contributed to the present condition of the PKC, according to experts. Though the Khadi unit recently launched ‘Payyanur Pattu’, a rare variety of silk saree, the PKC failed to find a proper dealership network in the State.
Though products such as bedspreads, readymade dresses, edible oils, leather items and furniture are also manufactured at the Centre, lack of proper distribution network and sufficient working capital prevent it from being promoted in other parts of the State. With no bailout package by the government in the offing, the Khadi tradition of Payyanur could soon fade into oblivion.
