Kendrapara, August 2 (LocalWire): Around 100 families of rakhi makers in Kendrapara district have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Artisans from Badahat, Chatarapatana, Ichapur, Kamakhandi, Bharatapur, and other villages in Kendrapara town make different styles and sizes of rakhis each year.
However, due to COVID-19, their work has been hit severely.
Most of the Rakhi makers of the district used to supply Rakhis to Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and other parts of the state.
“Earlier we used to receive huge orders from Rakhi sellers but this time, I have not received any so far.
It is one of the worst times for our business,” said Santosh Moharana of Chatarapatana.
“We have been making Rakhis for generations. But we have never seen such a situation. Our scope for work is restricted now.
We make Rakhis during Raksha Bandhan, kites for Makar Sankranti festival, paper-boats during Kartika Purnima and sundry items like paper dolls throughout the year. The sale of Rakhis has been severely affected this year,” said Jagannath Sahoo, an artisan from Badahat.
“Many religious people tie Rakhis on the horns of cattle and for them we used to prepare special Rakhis. However, they are also not in a mood to celebrate Rakshya Bandhan due to the deadly virus and shutdown,” said Ratnakar Rana, 63, from Chatarapatana.
“Last year, we made eco-friendly rakhis from golden grass after getting trained for the same by the Odisha Livelihood Mission. This year we couldn’t, as we were unsure about the sales due to COVID-19,” said Swarnalata Swain, a craftsperson of Jajang village.
LocalWire
Leave a Reply