Now Reading: Khadi workers in Hudli earn under Rs 200 a day after 30 years
-
01
Khadi workers in Hudli earn under Rs 200 a day after 30 years
Nirmala Gunayi has spun yarn at the Hudli Khadi Production Centre for 30 years. She makes 12 hanks a day, earning Rs 12.50 per hank plus a Rs 3 government incentive, less…
The Story in Brief
Nirmala Gunayi has spun yarn at the Hudli Khadi Production Centre for 30 years. She makes 12 hanks a day, earning Rs 12.50 per hank plus a Rs 3 government incentive, less than Rs 200 for a full day’s work. Janavva Angadi and Shobha Tukkar tell the same story. More than 700 workers across 13 centres in Belagavi taluk face similar low wages, with weavers getting Rs 25 per metre plus Rs 7 incentive. The workers are demanding a wage hike: Rs 20 per hank with Rs 10 incentive for spinning, and Rs 40 per metre with Rs 15 incentive for weaving. Meanwhile, the association secretary says raw material supply is insufficient to meet rising demand.
The Indian Opinion
Khadi is sold as a symbol of self-reliance, yet the women who spin it for decades can barely feed their families. The gap between the premium price khadi commands in shops and the paltry Rs 12.50 per hank paid to workers is a cold fact that romantic narratives of Gandhian economics ignore. The government’s Rs 3 incentive is a token. The real test will be whether the association’s wage demand of Rs 20 per hank with Rs 10 incentive actually reaches the workers, or stays on paper.
Source: deccanherald.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
