Pulwama: With updated laws putting an end to illegal soil extraction in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and new laws making it stricter to get the clay used in pottery, the situation has become grave for the craftsmen.
Potters of Chandgam in Jammu and Kashmir are mainly dependent on pottery for a living with more than 60 houses making clay utensils and other things.
The pottery requires a special type of clay that the potters find in their own area, but the district administration has selected that area to build an industry and a school. Without access to the clay, the already thinning business is facing hardships.
The villagers told ETV Bharat that they have been involved in clay work and pottery for centuries and even though the business was already declining, they were able to feed their families with it.
They rue that if the administration decides to set up a school and industry in Chandgam, their business will be affected.
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The potters of the village appealed to the administration to take steps for them so that they would be able to work and earn a living.
"The rule-makers can decide to make a school or a factory or anything, we don't mind. But we request them to kindly thing about us too. We should not be left to fend for ourselves. Please, they should think about us too," one potter said.
It should be noted that pottery has been done since ancient times. But now that clay products have been replaced by steel, plastic, brass and metal ones. As a result, the use of pottery is declining, and with it, the industry is declining.
Due to the low use of pottery in Kashmir, the young generation of potters have also said goodbye to this work and now a small population is associated with the business, while the new generation has sought other employment opportunities.
