Ahmedabad: Gujarat is gearing up for the fourth round of rain. According to the Meteorological Department, a low pressure system forming in the Bay of Bengal is heading towards Gujarat. Due to which, after next two or three days, rain will freeze again in maximum areas of Gujarat, which will last for about a week. Which is affecting the traders and handicraftsmen associated with Chaniyacholi in Navratri. The continuous rain is affecting the law-garden traders and folk fairs who are sitting in the hope of earning in Navratri. In the seventh-eighth, lakhs of artisans of Gujarat including 21 thousand weavers, 25 thousand bandhni artisans, 10 thousand artisans involved in ajrakh printing, 20 thousand hand Bharat artisans, 300 lakh machine embroiderers in Ahmedabad and Surat and chaniyacholi stitchers. Three lakh artisans involved in the work will be directly affected. It is difficult to say how many lakhs of Chaniyacholi are made in Gujarat as the unorganized sector of Chaniyacholi behaves as a handicraft as many NGOs are involved in their production.
Rain spoils Navratri:
Regarding this, textile artist Pravina Mahicha said that due to heavy rains, the folk fairs of Saurashtra and Kutch were closed. Our folk fairs are a major shopping base. People come in large numbers and buy from the artisans. In fact, the current time is just as important for artisans as Navratri, as artisans spend the whole year preparing and looking for opportunities to sell their products on these days. At present Chaniyacholi is exported not only to Gujarat but also to megacities of India and abroad. However, seven lakh artisans are believed to have been directly affected by the rains. Along with this, apart from the traders, it will also affect the three lakh artisans involved in the cottage industry of the village. Apart from Kutch in Gujarat, manufacturing of Chaniyacholi takes place to a maximum extent in Surendra Nagar, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Banaskantha. Apart from this, it has several units of tailoring work in Surat and Ahmedabad as well. Eight months before Navratri, these units are buzzing. In this regard, a trader at Law-Garden Market said, ‘In the last ten years, we have seen that there is a shortage of goods as Navratri approaches, but this time, even though Navratri is so close, the purchase is like every other time. Not seen. Which is a matter of concern for us.’
