VIJAYAWADA: Passengers thronging the Vijayawada Railway Station can now spend their leisure time shopping handloom products made by Pochampally artisans. The exclusive Handloom House was opened for the public at platform number one by Additional Divisional Railway Manager (Operations) G Sumana on Monday.
“We have adopted an innovative idea by setting up a stall to sell world-renowned Pochampalli handloom products that will surely interest those who seek to explore the local culture,” Sumana said. She requested the rail users to make the initiative a success and advised railway officials to adopt similar schemes for increasing the revenue from non-conventional sources.
Elaborating further, Sumana said Handloom House presently has stocks of Pochampally Ikat, Venkatgiri and Mangalagiri handloom products. Not just that, one can find bed sheets, sarees, shirts and bags also at the store. The stall is set up in an area of 155 sq. ft and is expected to become a major attraction in the railway station. On Monday, the stall received good response, especially from women.
On the occasion, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) P Srinivas said the railway station was an important junction on the South Central Railway, and serves nearly 55,000 passengers by operating around 192 trains daily on an average. He appreciated the efforts of the commercial division for adopting the idea. Senior Divisional Commercial Manager P Bhasker Reddy and Station Director Ch Suresh were also present.