HYDERABAD: Ahead of the much-awaited Bathukamma festival, the State government will distribute nearly 1.02 crore sarees to women belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families from September 23, thereby marking the beginning of festivities, said Textile and Handlooms Minister KT Rama Rao on Thursday.
At a display of Bathukamma sarees in Hyderabad on Thursday, Rama Rao said: “In a bid to provide continuous employment and ensure better incomes to the power loom weavers of Sircilla town, the State government has procured 1.02 crore sarees from the weaver clusters under the project. They will be distributed to more than one crore women in the State at a cost of Rs 313 crore. Each saree has been produced at a cost of Rs 280+ GST charges this year.”
Bathukamma is celebrated by the women of the Hindu community in Telangana for nine days during the month of September-October every year. After the formation of the new State, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao declared Bathukamma as a State festival. Since 2017, the government has been giving away free sarees to women across the State. Women aged 18 years and above and belonging to BPL families are eligible for Bathukamma sarees.
Reportedly, the sarees are made using 100 per cent polyester filament yarn with a zari border. Unlike previous years, the government will distribute sarees in 100 different shades and 10 new patterns this year. In addition to regular sarees of 6-metre length, 10 lakh sarees of 9-metre length have been also procured this season. Rama Rao said that the sarees were produced using over 26,000 power looms, employing several hundreds of weavers.