New Delhi: The narrow lanes of the potters’ colony in Uttam Nagar, Delhi, are a tad bit dustier than usual — trucks and tempos are stationed at odd angles, waiting to be loaded with all kinds of earthenware — idols, vases, but most importantly diyas. Ahead of Diwali, generations of potter families inhabiting the Kumhar Gram in West Delhi are on their toes, hoping to make the best of the festive season, but business is slow. Hari Om, a 3rd generation potter, blames the inflation.
The 52-year-old said with the prices of diyas going up, customers opt for the cheaper “Chinese lights”. “We do get decent business during Holi and Diwali, but we have seen a 40 per cent decrease in sales since last year. Customers also prefer buying cheaper options like chinese lights,” he said, soon after confirming an order of 2,000 diyas.
Hari Om’s family is among the 700 families that inhabit the Kumhar gram, most of them originally hailing from villages in Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Round the year, they sell pitchers, pots, fountains and decorative pieces, but income is minimum. Deepak Kumar, another potter in Kumhar Gram, is also struggling to make ends meet.
Mouths to feed are too many, and profit negligible. “A single decorative piece costs Rs70 to make and then we sell it for Rs100. Since all eight people of the family do this work there isn’t much left in the name of profit,” the 18-year-old potter, who is also a student at Delhi University, said.
While the potters have individuals purchasing earthenware, their major sales, which are to the street vendors who buy diyas in bulk to sell them in residential areas, have taken a hit.
Both the potters and the vendors claim the civic bodies have run anti-encroachment drives in the city, making it difficult for hawkers to sell these products, leading to a loss of work for both the communities.
