GUNTUR: With an initiative to give a major boost to the weavers of famous Mangalagiri cotton, as many as six handloom sheds have been set up with Rs 3.60 crore in the temple town.
On the occasion of National Handlooms Day, Principal Secretary (Handlooms and Textiles) K Sunitha, along with local MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy and APCO chairman Ganji Chiranjeevi, inaugurated the handloom sheds on Monday.
A total of Rs 1.10 crore was allotted by the central government under National Handloom Development Project, and Mangalagiri Tadepalli Municipal Corporation has allotted Rs 2.50 crore to renovate the sheds as part of the Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development scheme.
To provide the required workspace for the weavers to set up their handlooms, the officials have planned to set up spacious sheds in vacant areas in the Rajiv Gruha Kalpa housing colony. However, due to various reasons, the construction of sheds was halted for several years. After the formation of the municipal corporation, the shed works gained pace and over 146 handlooms were set up in the sheds. All basic amenities are provided at these sheds to facilitate the weavers.
The weavers, who have been deprived of all State and Central government subsidies and schemes despite being in the sector for several years, will be benefited from the new facility, said MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy. The majority of the population in the temple town is dependent on handloom weaving for their livelihood.
The Mangalagiri fabric which has huge popularity is produced by weaving with the help of pit looms from combed yarn by warp and wool interlacing. Mangalagiri sarees are woven from cotton and have the most characteristic features such as zari on the border and no woven designs on the body.