GUWAHATI: Escalating cost of production triggered by the daily rise in fuel prices has taken a severe hit on the city’s idol making trade, and as Durga Puja approaches, artisans here are working on a cash-strapped budget to complete their tasks in less than two weeks’ time.
Seventy-two-year-old Niranjan Pal, who is part of a 140-plus year-old legacy of idol making at this famous College Hostel Road address in Panbazar, says that the cost of raw materials has increased by over 40 per cent from the corresponding period last year.
“Straw, a vital ingredient for instance, is currently in short supply and the suppliers who are mainly from North Guwahati, are selling lesser quantity than last year but at higher prices. The price of a bundle of straw quoted by them is Rs 130, as against Rs 100 last year. Worse still, the quantity per bundle is just about one fourth of what it was last year,” Pal, the owner of Loknath Xilpaloy, a workshop in Panbazar, told The Shillong Times here on Monday afternoon.
Apart from straw, two types of soil – polox (river soil) and sticky soil, besides wood and bamboo are required by the artisans for the preliminary preparations before the idols are dried.
“The two varieties of soil are delivered by traders from Amingaon on the north bank of the Brahmaputra through trucks and a bag of soil is currently costing us Rs 900 as against Rs 600 last year,” he said.
The task till the clay is given shape and dried is only half complete as the idols have to be painted and decorated.
“As it is, the costs have been rising every year but the fuel price hike is taking a substantial toll it seems. Worse still, none of the raw materials are available in the city but have to be transported from places like Dhekiajuli, Tezpur, Lakhimpur, Bongaigaon, et al. As the fuel prices are rising every day, (with a litre of diesel pushing the Rs 80 mark as on date), the cost burden is transferred by the traders on us. However, we are not getting reasonable prices from our clients,” he said.
Five artisans, two from north Bengal and the rest from Goalpara, have been engaged by Pal since June, when work begins every year. Idols for Manasa Puja, Vishwakarma Puja, Durga Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Kali Puja and Jagadhatri Puja are made during July and November every season at his workshop.
“The cost of labour is increasing every year as well. So, our profit margins have been slashed to a new low, thanks to this cumulative pressure from each overhead. This year, we have kept the orders to just about nine idols,” he added.
Given the trend, puja committees here too are taking the austerity route even as some are still not compromising with the quality of pandals.
“We are compelled to bring down our budget from Rs 12 lakh last year to Rs 8 lakh this year owing to such an inflationary trend. Donations from parties to have shrunk considerably, However, we are sticking to our innovative, theme-based pandals that we come up with every year. Our idols are being made by an artisan from Basugaon in lower Assam,” said Jishu Das, the secretary of the organising committee of Chatribari Sarbajanin Debo Puja Sthan.