Gopalpur
Additional information may please be sent as messages to the |
Contents |
Gopalpur
Hardly 16 km from Berhampur, the hub of Southern Odisha, is the tiny town of Gopalpur on the Bay of Bengal. Enjoying the reputation of being a popular Beach Resort of Odisha, the deep and clear blue waters instantly provoke those who are good swimmers. The temptation of bathing here is irresistible. Not-so-good swimmers take the hands of the Nolias (local fishermen who help bathers) and enjoy a pleasant bath. White surf splashing on the golden sands makes Gopalpur-on-Sea as one of the finest beaches on the eastern coast. A fascinating haunt for avid beach combers and sea worshippers, it is a splendid retreat.
Watching the life on the beach is also exciting. The fishermen pulling their catch or mending their nets add local colour. Beautiful objects made of seashells available in abundance are worth buying souvenirs for decorating a Drawing Room or giving some one a Present. Sand sculptures here and, there made by some local artists are a feast to the eyes. Mouth watering sea food, especially fish from the deep sea, satisfy the hungry stomach. Green-coconuts quench the thirst.& nbsp;
Intense heat of the summer is tempered by the sea breeze in the fantastic quietness of the beach amidst palm, coconut and casuarina trees.
Gopalpur was once buzzing with maritime activities which Odisha is known for ages. It was one of the outlets through which early settlers of South East Asia sailed off. It was a famous and popular seaport during the British Rule till about 1942 when it ceased to operate due to the second world war and separation from Bunna (now Myanmar). The crumbling walls and pillars and the. light house stand witness to the past port. Remains of several bungalows and mansions belonging to the European merchants give the place a colonial look. A modern port is being developed here to revive the lost glory.
A trip to Gopalpur-on-sea is a rewarding experience of sun and sea, fun and frolick.
How to Reach
Road : Gopalpur is well connected by an excellent all-weather road which branches off from the NH 5 on the outskirts of Berhampur (16 km). Regular bus services are available. Taxis and Autorickshaws are also available.
Rail : Nearest railhead is Berhampur (16 km) on the East Coast Rly. served by a number of fast trains on Kolkata-Chennai route.
Air : Nearest airport is Bhubaneswar (190 km) and Visakhapatnam (260 km)
Weaving
2024: Silk turns to cotton in tussar belt
Sandip Mishra & Ashis Senapati, TNN, Sep 29, 2024: The Times of India
It was in 2009 that Gopalpur in Odisha’s Jajpur district cemented its position in the world of silks. Its tussar fabric was awarded a GI tag. But no more than a decade and a half later, the craft is struggling against the withering impact of climate change. Weavers are now being forced to switch to cotton items to stay afloat.
“We’ve been weaving silk sarees for the last two decades. However, we’ve taken to weaving cotton saris in the last six months due to a drop in the availability of tussar cocoons,” said Sita Sahoo, a weaver in Gopalpur. She used to make three to four tussar sarees a month. Now, she manages only half that number.
Switching To Survive
Climate change has created a scarcity of cocoons, the primary raw material for extracting silk. Fluctuation in temperatures has impacted the growth of trees on which the Antheraea paphia moth, or tussar silkworm, is reared. The worms usually feed on the leaves of sal, asan and arjun trees. Santosh Rout, dean of agriculture at a Bhubaneswar-based private university, said temperature change is also adversely affecting the life cycle of the moth from larva to pupa.
In Keonjhar zone, which is the primary cluster for tussar silk, approximately 7.2 lakh cocoons were collected in 2022-23. That came down to 5.6 lakh in 2023-24. Over 46,000 families, mainly belonging to SC and ST communities, are involved in weaving tussar silk across 14 Odisha districts, including Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Kalahandi and Nuapada. The weavers not only make tussar silk saris but also bedsheets, scarves, handkerchiefs, towels and other items.
A normal tussar sari costs around Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 with the price going up to Rs 8,000-Rs 9,000 for a designer sari. A weaver takes around 10-12 days to weave a normal sari, and around 15-20 days for a designer one. The retail price ranges from Rs 7,000 for normal saris to Rs 12,000 for designer varieties. Weavers also make specially ordered saris that can cost over Rs 50,000.
“Tussar silk weaving is more profitable than making cotton items, but we have no option but to make the shift,” said Nirja Munda, a weaver in Mankadia village in Balasore district. Gautam Chand of Gopalpur echoed the sentiment. “We have plenty of gifted weavers with great artistic dexterity and skills that have been passed on from generation to generation. But we’re being forced to change to maintain our livelihood,” he said.
Rising Input Costs
Weavers said the shortage of cocoons is forcing them to switch to eri silk or Korean silk, among others. Tussar silk saris from Odisha are sold all over India and exported as well. But the shift to other fabrics has affected exports. State govt data shows that the production potential of tussar silk saris in Bargarh, Jajpur, Balasore and Nuapatna is Rs 11.6 crore annually on average. But business stood at Rs 8.9 crore in 2022-23 and went down to Rs 7.1 crore in 2023-24.
After being collected from the forest, the cocoon is boiled in water. Then the silk fibre is extracted from it manually and put into spinning machines for conversion into yarn. About 60gm of thread is extracted from 80 cocoons. A cocoon costs around Rs 7-10. For a normal tussar silk sari a weaver needs 200 cocoons or at least 500gm of yarn.
“A kilo of yarn cost Rs 6,000 two years back; it’s gone up to Rs 8,000 now,” said Shiva Prasad Das, another weaver in Gopalpur.
Counter Measures
Odisha Co-operative Tassar & Silk Federation Ltd (Serifed) Ltd is harvesting more cocoon crops in a bid to deal with the shortage. The govt, through Serifed, procures and supplies yarn to artisans from the lone Silk Park at Bhagamunda in Keonjhar district. The weavers can either get the cocoons and extract the yarn or get it from the Silk Park. An official at the Silk Park told TOI that the cost of raw materials is rising because of an increase in labour charges and wood prices. “We need wood to boil the cocoons. Labour charges have also gone up in the last two years,” he said.
However, Surya Narayan Patnaik, additional director (sericulture) in Odisha govt, said they are facilitating procurement of tussar cocoons through different co-operative societies. “The procurement is three-to-four-fold higher this time,” he said. Patnaik admitted there were some issues during the pandemic, but things are normal now. “In case of unavailability in the state, we are importing cocoons from other states,” he added.
Experts said the govt and other stakeholders need to take urgent steps to address the impact of climate change on the silk industry. “The govt, NGOs and other stakeholders need to work together to find sustainable solutions that can help weavers to adapt and preserve this important cultural heritage for future generations,” said Sailabala Padhi, former director of Centre for Environmental Studies.
