3 years on, demonetisation continues to haunt weavers

A good three years after demonetisation, the traditional weavers of Ilkal are yet to recover from its aftershock. They say that even now, business is down by about 40%.
“Though we have recovered from the initial impact of demonetisation, the market is yet to pick up,” says Vijaykumar Guled of the 147-year-old P.K. Guled Sarees, the oldest surviving master weavers in Ilkal, trading in handloom products. They are trying to reach out to global buyers through Internet marketing, in the hope of balancing this loss.
Another master weaver, Nagaraj Seetharam Sarode of the 106-year-old S.P. Sarode Saree House says: “Business is down by nearly 40% even after more than three years.” According to him, business came down post demonetisation as visitors to the weaving town drastically reduced. “A large number of people from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and surrounding regions of Ilkal would come here to buy granite. Given the fame of Ilkal saris, they would also come into the town looking for our produce,” he said, adding that crackdown on quarrying has further affected their business.

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