Covid-19 puts Sirajganj lungi factories in dire straits 

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic has stopped looms in Tamai, a village at Belkuchi upazila in Sirajganj, where most of the people are involved in weaving business. 

A recent visit to the village revealed that yarn and clothes used for weaving were being wasted as the familiar sound of loom operation could no longer be heard. 

Loom factories are closing down one by one, leaving thousands of workers unemployed. 

Although there is no income due to the closure of factories, owners have to pay bank loan interest. 
Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, a resident of Tamai Uttarpara, set up a lungi factory on his own land with a Tk96 lakh cash credit (CC) loan from the bank and his own capital. That factory has now turned into a heavy burden for him.

He told The Business Standard (TBS), "I set up the lungi factory with the hope of making profit, but now I am being forced to close down the factory as I cannot bear the losses anymore. Out of my 84 machines, I had to sell 20 three years ago due to business slowdown and rising prices of dye and yarn. Now, 20 more machines have been shut down since last Eid-ul-Fitr. The rest of the machines were operated till Eid-ul-Adha. After the Eid, the prices of dyes, yarns and chemicals have gone up again; for which reason, I have not opened the factory yet. As a result, valuable yarns and clothes are being wasted."

"Clothing markets are closed for long and wholesalers do not come to the factory for a long time. Due to the lack of buyers, produced lungis have to be stored at home. In this situation, even if there is no income, I have to pay the interest of the bank loans," he added.

Informing that many traders have fled the area as they could not pay their debts, the businessman apprehended that if the current situation continues for some more days, he will be forced to close his factory for good.
 
Weavers from different northern districts including Rangpur, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Naogaon and Natore used to come to Tamai and other villages of Belkuchi upazila in search of livelihood. They also returned home after the factories were closed due to the lockdown imposed to tackle the ongoing pandemic.
 
Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal said, "There are weaving factories in almost every house of the upazila. Almost all the factories are now closed due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the debts of the factory owners are increasing gradually and the families of the workers are passing days almost in starvation."

Hossain Ali, a local weaver, said, "I worked for two months after Eid-ul-Fitr, but the factory owner could not pay the full salary. The factory has not opened yet after Eid-ul-Adha."

He is now maintaining his family expenses by borrowing cash from others and taking daily essentials on credit from shops. His employer has said that it would take two more weeks to reopen the factory.

"I need at least Tk3,000 every week to bear the expenses of my five-member family. If there is no work, I do not know how I will continue living in the coming days," Hossain Ali said in frustration.

Joynal Abedin, a local worker, became unemployed after the loom factory he worked for was shut down. "It is very difficult to run the family. I have heard that the government is giving incentives to the workers, but I have not received it yet. We cannot think out where to go, or what to do, now with our wife, sons and daughters," he said.

Ariful Gani Limon, a local journalist, said, "Tamai village is known as the largest weaving village in Sirajganj. At one time, thousands of workers used to work in the factories of this village from dawn till late at night. One could not hear what the person sitting next to him was saying due to the continuous sound of the looms. That tradition is going to be lost now. At present, there are only a handful of factories in operation. Unemployed workers are living an uncertain life as alternative employment opportunities are very few."

He thinks that if the weekly clothing market is opened again and the prices of dyes, yarns and chemicals are brought down, this weaving village will come back to life.

In this regard, Badiuzzaman Badi, president of Sirajganj unit of Handloom and Powerloom Owners Association, said as the ongoing pandemic is prolonging further, the quantity of loss of loom owners is increasing day by day. On the one hand, production at the factories is stopped, and on the other hand, the weekly market for selling weaving products is also closed. As a result, sari, lungi and gamchha worth crores of taka are left unsold.
    
"This traditional industry has come to a standstill. The only way to save this industry is to keep the factories running and open the closed weekly market, maintaining social distance and wearing masks. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for the industry to survive," he said.

Besides, he demanded government incentives for the loom owners and workers affected by the corona pandemic.