Village turns into Sambalpuri sari haat

BHUBANESWAR: At a small nondescript village in Bargarh district, the world famous Sambalpuri sari is marketed right under the open sky. Every Friday thousands of weavers from many western Odisha districts gather on a roadside at Balijori, 12 km from the district headquarters town of Bargarh, to sell their weaves just like vegetables in 'sabzi mandis'.

The market starts at 4 am and stretches to maximum 9 am witnessing transactions of around Rs 2 crore in flat five hours. Weavers, majority of them riding bicycles reach the designated area at the earliest possible time to sell the saris to mainly traders from Chhattisgarh, West Bengal apart from those from the state. Other than the traders, people having marriages in family also come to this market for bulk purchases and make a good bargain in the process.

Most weavers come with just two to five saris with very few having beyond 10 to trade. They compete to sell them at prices offered by the buyers. "If all the five members of our family get involved in tying, dyeing and weaving, we can weave a maximum of three saris in a week. This week we made two," said Dushmant Meher, a weaver from Kenpali village in the district who had come to sell just two saris. He sold the pair for Rs 3,800.

The Balijori market is around 20 years year old, old-timers like Dhruva Charan Meher recall. "The practice of weavers directly selling their handllom products is as old as the Sambalpuri sari. Earlier, we used to gather in front of Uma Talkies in Bargarh town and later near the Bargarh sub-jail. However, due to space constraints there and hooliganism by the locals, some of the weavers moved here," recalls Dhruva Charan Meher, a native of Barpali.

While the market inside Bargarh town died, Balijori is thriving over the years. Barpali, which is just 10 km from the current market place, has a huge presence of Meher community that is into weaving. "This seems to be a reason why Balijori, a village with just 1,500 population located on Bargarh-Barpali road, became a preferred place for them," said Deepak Goyal, an edu-entrepreneur of the area.

A trader from Kolkata, who did not wish to be named, said the margin in each sari would be Rs 100 to Rs 500 when sold in cities. "After purchasing, the saris are sorted out in various price brackets depending on the design and fabrics. Prices of some of them where finishing is perfect earns good money," he said.

Realising that the market is growing, the state government has decided to construct 'boonakar bazaar' (weaver market) with concrete sheds, provision of drinking water, toilets and other basic amenities right in front of the place where the weavers gather. "The handlooms, textiles and handicrafts department has sanctioned Rs 2.5 crore for the infrastructure. The work will start soon," said Upendra Debata, assistant director textiles, Bargarh.

The government is planning to provide common sitting space under the concrete roof free of cost to the weavers and kiosks at marginal costs so that the weavers, traders and buyers don't face problems during the harsh winter and rain. The market will have design and display boards, parking space, eateries and will be promoted to attract more buyers, Debata said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/village-turns-into-sambalpuri-sari-haat/articleshow/59233712.cms