Imphal, June 04 2009: COUNTRY'S flagship programme, National Rural Employment Generation Scheme (NREGS) hit the women engaging inweaving and other handloom activities as most of them prefer to go as NREGS job workers which aimed at giving 100 days jobs per head of a family in the rural areas.

Women leaving the weaving and other handloom activities, as observed, related with the reduction in the demands of (traditional 'men wear) in the markets and hiking of the price of the threats as a consequence of which afffected to the income generration form the works.

Maibam Jamuna, a weaver from Maklang' obbserved that with the changging of time the demand of khudei has been sharply reeducing in the state.

With this women engaging in weavving and handloom producction of the same are decreassing day by day.

Now, except on the occcasion of Cheiraoba (Maanipuri New Year) and Yaaosang festival, khudei has no more demand in the market.In other time this prodduct has no more demand in the market, she added.

In the midst of diminnishing demand of khudei and other weaving products in the market and nonnstopped hiking of the price of the raw product (threat) colliding with the advent of the flagship NREGS in the state, women engaging in weaving have been reducing.

Women are thinking better to get Rs 81 per day from the NREGS works which engaged only few hours in a day.

Apart from this, they got the advantage of chatting among them selves and it needs not innvestments.

While engaging in weavving of 20 pair of khudei, 'it took 10 days if a weaver a whole day in the work.

But from the work, they got Rs 300 only as profit.

So she herself also went to work for NREGS, Jamuna further said.

She engaged in weaving work after coming back from NREGS work, Jamuuna added.

Maibam ongbi Kunndalei of Karrgabam Leikai, a cloth vender at ema keithel, a part of Khwai Baazar who has been doing the business for the last 30 years said Hueiyen Lanpao that as now a days is the season, it is hard to get sale two pairs of khudei.

But she can sell it more than 100 pairs.

Apart from this, village women are rarely turned up with their products stating that they have been engaged in NREGS works.

So, the quantity of bringing up khudei and other handloom products sharply reduced in these days, she added.

Another 48 year-old women cloth vender Hamom ongbi Shantibala Devi said the price of the goods also hiking with of the price of threats also increasing day by day.

The price of a pair of khudei which was earlier cost only Rs 130 increased to Rs 150 now at the whole sale rate.

But they could sell it only with Rs 10 to 20 profit per pair.

Despite of this, customers are this goods is very rare now a days and replacing by goods exports from outside the state.

So, it is automatic to leave the profession by the weavers.

With regard to the hiking of the price of the threats, a threat merchant at Ema Market said the price of the threats was not increase so high but it can be said increasing as only Rs 10 to 20 increased in the last few year.

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