Tussar Silk Artisans Face Sales Slump at Surajkund Mela Amid Low Footfall

• Handloom saree vendors from Jharkhand at Surajkund Crafts Mela, Faridabad, are experiencing significantly lower sales than expected.
• Sanjay Das, a third-generation artisan from Godda, Jharkhand, highlights that despite 18-30 days of intricate handcrafting for each saree, customer footfall is low.
• His stall features Tussar silk, Gichha silk, and pure silk sarees with unique techniques like hand printing, brush painting, and cutwork designs.
• Sanjay attributes the reduced sales to lower crowd numbers at the Mela, possibly due to increased ticket prices, directly impacting artisans' livelihoods.
• Around 200 artisans depend on this ancestral skill, which involves a natural and traditional process from cocoon collection by tribal people to hand-weaving and Madhubani painting.