Channapatna’s famed toy industry hit by expressway project, cries for attention ahead of Assembly polls

Press Trust of India

Ramanagara: The livelihoods of artisans who work in Channapatna’s toy industry have been impacted as the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway which opened two months ago does not connect to the toy factory that mostly depends on tourists for their business.

With polling for the Assembly elections set to take place in just three days, artisans who work at the toy factory are demanding basic facilities from the upcoming government, such as supply of raw materials, easy transportation of products and a way for artisans to sell their products along the highway. Sohail Parvez, who works as a manager at the Channapatna toy factory claimed that the lives of the artisans have been hit badly and that many of them are have crippling debt.

“We expect basic facilities like supply of raw materials, easy transportation of products and a platform for artisans to sell their products along the highway. There are 5,000 registered artisans here and they are completely dependent on this job. With the impact on business, they are struggling for survival. The loss has impacted their livelihood. Many of them are in debt and unable to repay their loans,” Parvez told PTI.

Artisans in Channapatna use the wood of a special tree that grows in old Mysore called ‘Ivory Wood Tree’ for making dolls and toys. These handicrafts are also exported worldwide. Tourists in the area are the primary customers of the toy factory, other than the usual markets.

“The highway might have connected Bengaluru and Mysuru well but not the towns that come in between that have been prominent for something or the other. We were mostly dependent on the tourists who pass by this route. Now that the highway has been built, the toy factory got derailed from the route and 70 to 80 per cent of our business got impacted due to this,” Parvez said.

Earlier, PM Modi had said the expressway was an important project and would “contribute to Karnataka’s growth”. Opposition Congress and JD(S) had alleged that the “incomplete project” was launched to woo voters ahead of the polls. Channapatna is also considered a stronghold of former CM HD Kumaraswamy.