A research study has shed light on livelihood crisis faced by bamboo workers in Kerala. Nearly one lakh workers eke out their living from weaving bamboo products.
The study, done by 30 researchers from different universities as part of a course on โEssentials of Research Methods in Social Sciencesโ conducted by the Public Policy Research Institute (PPRI), Thiruvananthapuram, urges the government to make necessary interventions at the earliest possible to mitigate the hardships of the workers.
Vellanad panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram, where many bamboo workers live, was selected for the study, which was funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Department of Education, Government of India.
The workers complained that the Bamboo Development Corporation has not distributed bamboo to the workers for the last many months. Workers used to receive a dearness allowance of โน48 for every square meter of mat sold to the Corporation. For the last two years, there have not been any incentives (17% of annual sales of products by workers).
As the permanent employees of the Bamboo Development Corporation have not paid for the last year, several sub-depots have become non-functional, the study found.
Bamboo workers are mostly elderly women suffering from various chronic illnesses caused by weaving bamboo by squatting on the floor for longer hours. They do not have money to buy even essential medicines for diabetes and high blood pressure.
