DHUBRI, April 20 - Terracotta artisans and potters of Asarikandi area of Dhubri district fear that the ongoing lockdown will have a long-term impact on their unique art form and quality of products, which are famous all over the country.
Many artisans of Asarikandi area have been awarded with many state-level, national and international awards for their unique products.
According to people engaged in the production and sale of these earthen items of Asarikandi, this is not the season for production of terracotta materials, but only for preparation for production and delivery to different dealers who again distribute them to different parts of the country.
�At this time, we burn and clean the kilns, we stock the logs and earth (hira mati) from different hilly areas, which is used for preparing the terracotta items throughout the year,� said Chandan Pal, a young terracotta artisan from the village who is also engaged in sale of the products. �As transportation is closed, we have not been able to do anything, due to which our production for the rest of the year will be hampered.�
Almost 125 families of Asarikandi area are surviving only by producing and selling terracotta items. �Items worth more than 20 trucks are stocked in the homes of these families,� said Pal. �Even if this lockdown ceases, it will have a long-term effect on the poor terracotta workers for years to come.�
�Our houses are filled with terracotta items and we can do nothing,� said Mahadev Pal, a senior artisan and State awardee. He said that due to the lockdown, they were facing financial crunch and many artisans are finding it hard to make both ends meet. �I have never seen such huge stocks in our houses and godowns.�
