HYDERABAD: Telangana police forces are soon likely to become brand ambassadors for the State’s handloom industry. How? By wearing handloom clothes to work once a week.
The idea is part of the State government’s drive to promote the handloom sector. To this end, the state is likely to provide policemen and women with handloom clothes on the directions that they wear them once a week to work.
During a review meeting on promoting the state handloom sector recently held in the city, a senior bureaucrat made the proposal. The argument was that as the state police employs some 50,000 people asking them to wear handloom garments, provided to them, once a week would help promote the sector. Officials noted that policemen, clad in khaki, are visible in public places unlike most other government servants. If the government planned to provide funds to distribute handlooms products to the police department, it would help the handloom sector by promoting its products and would generate income for weavers.
Currently, the government provides police personnel their uniform as well as shoes, belts and caps. The government also distributes uniforms to the thousands of home guards working in various wings in the state every year.
In meeting, a Minister is understood to have directed finance department officials to estimate the budget for the project. It was also thought to implement the project on a pilot basis first.
Recently, the Maharashtra police issued a circular directing police forces to wear khadi twice in a week to promote handloom products.
Handloom in fashion in NPA already
While the Maharashtra police have already initiated a similar drive to promote handloom products in the state, in Telangana, at present, officials at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy wear cotton khaki clothes while discharging their duties, following directions from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The rule applies to the trainee IPS candidates as well.