Now things are more hectic for Jamdani weavers in different areas of Sonargaon in Narayanganj as they are working round the clock to make fashionable Jamdani sarees with newer designs as Eid shoppers have already started crowding shopping malls in various cities.
Visiting different areas in Sonargaon, the reporter found many weavers making alluring designs while some busy with kitting and colouring threads, reports UNB.
Various types of Jamdani sarees, including Tersa, Jolpar, Pannahazar, Karola, Dublajal, Saburga, Bolihar, Shaplaful, Angurlota, Mayurpachpar, Baghnali, Kalmilota, Chandrapar and Jhumka are being made in handlooms of the weavers.
There are more than 4,000 handlooms in five unions of Sonargaon upazila. Most of the handlooms are located at Alamdicharbula, Malipara, Sadipur, Brahmanbawga, Khejurtola, Kazipara, Chowrapara, Musarchar, Sekerhat, Basabo, Tilab, Bostol, Koltapara, Kahena, Ganakbari, Otma, Rautgaon, Nayapur, Uttar Kazipara, Chengain, Khalpar Chengain, Bhargaon, Kandhapara, Firipara, Baisteki, Adampur and Bangladesh Lok O Karu Shilpa Foundation areas.
Though they are working hard with their eyes on the Eid market, the weavers are a bit frustrated for the low prices of their products.
Talking to the correspondent, some weavers said gone are the golden days of Jamdani and they are being deprived of fair prices of their products due to intervention of middlemen.
Sabuj Mia, Md Matin and Abul Kashem, handloom weavers of Alamdicharbula area, said they are weaving Jamdani defying many obstacles.
"We make sarees worth ranging from Tk 1,000 to Tk 22,000 but these days we hardly get orders for costly sarees. The Jamdani industry will be able to contribute more to export earning if it gets more government support," said Abul Kashem.
Jamdani seller Awlad Hossain said, "The demand for Jamdani sarees goes up ahead of Eid. The weavers make high quality sarees ahead of Eid aiming to earn more than any other time."
President of Sonargaon Jamdani Tanti Prathomik Samity Mozibur Rahman said, "Jamdani weavers are going through a tough time as middlemen are eating up the large portion of their profit. Poor handloom weavers are gradually getting destitute because of the middlemen."
Despite its high prices, the demand for Jamdani never declines as its global popularity is increasing.
Usually, Jamdani fairs are held ahead of Eid in Bangladesh and some districts of West Bengal, India, Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore of Pakistan, and three to four countries in Europe.
