Kolkata: The internationally famous clay doll makers of Ghurni in Krishnanagar are facing acute financial hardship in view of the COVID 19 pandemic that has heavily hit their business. The export of clay dolls has totally stopped since nationwide lockdown was clamped in March. A clay doll hub has come up and the construction of a museum showcasing the heritage of Nadia district is on following the initiative taken by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The artisans know what to do and many of them have been forced to give up their profession. Finding no other option, the artisans have approached local Trinamool Congress leaders and are contemplating to write a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking her intervention. There are around 700 families that are solely dependent on manufacturing of clay dolls. The clay dolls have international market. The artisans have taken part in national and international exhibition and many of them have received global recognition. Along with clay, the statues made of Bronze casting by Kartick Pal were installed in the United States and Russia. Ghurni is Krishnagars star attraction and thousands of domestic and foreign come every year and visit the area. Bimal Pal, a clay artisan said " From April till date I have sold clay dolls worth Rs 300 while the average sale of dolls for four months will be around Rs 50,000- Rs 60,000 per month. The export has totally stopped and all the foreign buyers have cancelled their order."Biswanath Pal, another artisan felt that for the industry there is little chance of survival unless train service normalizes. "Unless people come to Krishnanagar we cannot sell our products. It is a real grim situation with complete uncertainty," said Pal. Maharaja Krisnnachandra was a connoisseur of clay dolls and had brought the clay doll artisans from Dhaka and Natore now in Bangladesh in 1728. Most of the clay artisans belong to the Pal community. The clay models of cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid top the list in terms of polularity.

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