T.N. Assembly election: residents of Tiruttani constituency seek more support to improve their livelihood

Residents of Tiruttani constituency seek enhanced support for livelihoods, highlighting issues in agriculture, weaving, and temple management.

Hundreds of power looms rattle and hum throughout the day to make cotton lungis and sarees in this Assembly constituency that is home to the hill shrine of Sri Subramaniaswami in Tiruttani. They are part of a larger cluster of power looms spread across Arakkonam and Sholingur.

Over the last few years, the number of looms in Murugur, which is about 3 km from the heart of the town, has come down. “It was in 2000 that many weavers switched from handlooms to power looms. Since I’ve grown old, I prefer to get the thread and paavu from a company, stitch the lungi, and get paid ₹14 per metre as wages. I don’t have the strength to manufacture and sell them on my own. I don’t have the money to convert the loom into one for weaving saris either,” he said.

A local politician said apart from the 1,000 free units of electricity provided to each power loom, there was hardly any government scheme for the weavers here. “In Kancheepuram, there is a zari factory, and there are shops selling saris. Here, at the most, lorry drivers who need lungis visit the weaver’s houses, which serve as production centres, to buy the garment. The more enterprising among the weavers sell their products at nearby markets.”

In Tiruttani, the lives of the residents are intertwined with the temple. Jamuna, a tailor and single mother of three, who said it would be helpful for her if she got a sewing machine without the pedal, wanted the temple administration to designate a separate darshan time slot for the local residents.

“After the pandemic, the temple has been getting lots of devotees. I would like to request a specific time slot for residents of Tiruttani, as is done at other temples.” She added that small ponds in residential areas such as Murugur should not be filled up.

Ravikanth, a devotee from Andhra Pradesh, said crowd management was quite poor in the temple. “The queues here are organised poorly. I visited the temple on an ordinary non-festival Thursday but the arrangements were unsatisfactory. It is lucky that there have been no stampedes. I visit Swamimalai once a year for a festival. The crowd is managed better there,” he said.