VIJAYAWADA: Central MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, along with Zilla Parishad chairperson Gadde Anuradha inaugurated the National Handloom Exhibition, organised by the Department of Handlooms and Textiles, at the Satavahana Degree College, here on Thursday. Weavers and organisations from handloom clusters, across the country, are taking part in this expo, which will conclude on 4 April.
Around 63 stalls have been set up for the handloom weavers taking part in the expo. The price range of the products on display, silk sarees and other handloom materials, is Rs 3,000 to Rs 35,000.
Speaking on the occasion, Umamaheswara Rao urged people to give an impetus to the handloom sector by using more handloom products, terming those ‘eco friendly’ and a source of employment for lakhs of weavers in the State. He further said, “The expo is held not only to promote the sales of handloom products, but also to create awareness among the public about the uniqueness of handlooms products”.
In the present-day scenario the handloom sector in the State is finding difficulty to compete (with other States) and produce quality products, with new designs using the power looms, he said. Traditional Pochampally, Venkatagiri, Mangalgiri sarees, Jaipur printed sarees and bedsheets, sarees with chikan embroidery and Banarasi silk sarees from UP etc, are on display in the expo.