The days of the weavers of Sitapur, famous for the cracks, have started getting dominated by the Mughal era from the artisans who came from Persia. The Yogi Adityanath government of Uttar Pradesh has included the Dari industry of Sitapur in a district one product (ODOP) scheme, after which it has got wings. In Sitapur, the carpets have been woven by hand for centuries, but they are also getting a strong market after getting the technology.
The cracks made here were once laid in the houses, but the weavers who make them are now making products like Yoga Matt, Bedside Runner and Center Tabler, using technology. The export of these products is also being fierce.
Sometimes cotton and woolen shrines were woven here, but the weavers of Khairabad town of Sitapur are now moving ahead of them and making carpets and streams. The state government has set up a Common Facility Center and Dyeing Center with the intention of molding the carpets spread from place to place in Khairabad, Bisawa and Laharpur towns of Sitapur. Many companies have also come forward, which are trying to connect women to the market by connecting it to the carriage.
The result of the efforts of the government and companies is that in the last two years, the annual business of Dari industry of Sitapur has doubled. In 2021-22, this industry did a business of Rs 150 to 200 crore, which increased to Rs 400 crore in 2023-24. Maharashtra and South Indian states have the highest demand for Sitapur’s hand -made cracks. The cotton carriage here goes to cities like Mumbai, Nashik, Pune and there is a high demand for woolen crafts in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Khairabad trader Hakim Ansari says that in the earlier era, businessmen used to go to village to sell goods by placing goods on cycle, but now the traders from outside traders see a sample of goods and send orders online. Talking outside, the countries of Europe and America also have a lot of cracks. Yoga mats and bed runners made here within the country are good demand.
More than 30,000 families in Sitapur are associated with weaving of carpets. Dari businessman Virendra Singh says that 80 percent of the people still weave the handloom and about 20 percent of the big traders have put powerloom. But he says that there is a high demand for Sitapur’s hand -made cracks. In the middle, a machine made from the machine from China had shocked the carpet of Sitapur in the market, but now the picture has reversed. Today, the demand for the shrines of Sitapur is not only more than the knitted hole on the powerloom of Ludhiana. It is different that experiments are also being done in Sitapur and somewhere, synthetic threads are being made from Surat. But most of the work is of cotton, wool and jute.
The administration is also fully helping this industry. Officials of the District Industries Center say that in the CFC installed in Bisawa, the weavers get the facility of design, raw materials with the market. The drawing center is getting the facility of modern technology and new way to paint. Officials of the Directorate of Industries say that weavers are being given 25 percent subsidy on loans up to Rs 25 lakh and 20 percent subsidy is received on loans from Rs 25 to 50 lakh. Under the ODOP, 352 weavers of Sitapur have also been trained in two years. There are plans to train 250 people in this financial year.
Crimes for every section
In Sitapur, the rifts worth Rs 20 per sq ft to Rs 300 per square feet are prepared. Finely weaved wool cracks and streets are the most expensive, while the price of cotton shrines is low. Yoga mats start from Rs 60 to up to Rs 500. Similarly, the ready bed runner on handloom is expensive but the powerloom gets cheaper. On ODOP Mart, from the cracks of Sitapur to Yoga Matt and other products are found. Also, products are available here on many online platforms. The weavers say that the state government also gives them the facility to set up stalls in exhibitions to be excluded, causing the market to grow.
Jaipur Rugs Foundation Center
Companies are also trying to carry forward the carriage industry. Dalmia Bharat Bharat Foundation, CSR branch of Dalmia Bharat Group, has started a Rug Loom Center in Gopalpur village of North Sitapur district in collaboration with Jaipur Rugs Foundation. In this center, 64 women of four villages Rampur, Gopalpur, Gomidapur and Ashrafnagar are being trained in the traditional craft of weaving hand lumps. Jaipur Rugs Foundation will assist in marketing and sales of finished products. Significantly, in Sitapur, a large number of women have a share in the weaving of Dari. Women are being taught the skills of hand weaving in the Rug Loom Center.
History of Dari is centuries old
In Sitapur, the artisans weaving the carpets got this skill from the skills from the Persia in the era of the Mughals. Due to the abundant availability of cotton here, the settlements of weavers were settled in the Nawabi era and the work went on. Earlier, from the courts of the Nawabs, the meeting and life was used for the Hukkams. Later it was made for the common people and began to be sold. The East India Company opened handloom export centers in Khairabad and Dariyabagh in the 17th and 18th centuries. In later days, the number of weavers increased, work spread and the common people of Sitapur also started getting it at low prices easily. In recent years, if cotton cultivation in the Terai region is over, weavers ask for raw materials from Gujarat, Maharashtra and wool from Punjab for cotton carpets.
First Published – March 2, 2025 | 10:10 pm IST
