RANGPUR, May 26: The potters at different upazilas in Rangpur district are apprehensive of continuing their ancestral profession as they are facing acute capital shortage.
Owing to increase in prices of wood, mud and other materials the potters now can make only a little profit from their products. Due to lack of adequate capital they are facing serious difficulties in running their business and as result many of them have already left their profession and taken up new jobs. Many have become rickshaw van pullers, garments workers, day labourers etc.
Visiting Palpara village under Mominpur union in Rangpur Sadar upazila on Tuesday last this FE correspondent found around 250 potter families of the village struggling for their survival.
Talking to The Financial Express a number of potters including Nakul Chandra Pal, Swapna Rani Robin, Chandra Pal said usually they make different domestic utensils like pitchers, jars, curd making pots, flower pots, coin saving banks, and toys.
But these traditional earthen wares have lost their appeal and attraction in the face of aggressive modern technology as utensils made of steel, melamine and plastic have become popular among the users in the district, they further said.
However, earthen products like flower pot, plant pots are still in good demand. Lack of marketing facilities and price hike of raw materials made it much difficult for them to continue their business they said.
"Now we can hardly earn Tk 100 to Tk 120 a day which is too inadequate to maintain a family," said Bhuben Chandra Pal (58), a potter of the village "it is also less than the earning of a day labourer," he said.
He claimed that they do not get fair price of their products due to lack of marketing facilities. They are often compelled to sell their products at a price less than the production cost as middlemen always deprive them of fair price. He said they get only Tk 3000 for Tk 1000 plant pots which is not sufficient. If they got at least 8000 to Tk 10000 they could earn some profit, he added.
The main ingredient which is essential to make these products is called potter's soil or 'Kumar Mati'. Nowadays this sort of soil has become scanty and its price has increased abnormally.
A number of potters said they never got any loan from bank. They get loan from some NGOs and local money lenders but its interest is much higher. If they get easy bank loan facility or interest free loan they could boost up their business. "We need government patronisation in order to save our traditional profession from extinction", they added.
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