RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: Overcoming the hurdles posed by the lockdown, the Sircilla weavers have almost completed the production of Bathukamma sarees. Available in over 225 designs, and adorned by gold and silver borders, the sarees will be ready for distribution by the end of September.
The Telangana government has been distributing sarees to women on the occasion of Bathukamma festival since 2017. This year, the Bathukamma festival begins on October 15 and ends on October 23. As much as 73 per cent of the saree production has been completed. The sarees have been moved to the central godown in Hyderabad and those in other districts too.
The rest of the Bathukamma sarees will be produced by September 30, said the Handlooms and Textiles Department, which oversees the production of the sarees.
Speaking to Express, assistant director of Handlooms and Textile Department V Ashok Rao said, “As of now, 73 lakh sarees have been produced as against the target of 1 crore sarees. Around 15,000 weavers and allied workers are involved in the production of Bathukamma sarees. Over 20,000 powerloom units were used for the same.”
The Sircilla powerloom units had come to a standstill for about a month during the lockdown. This has, however, had no impact on the production of Bathukamma sarees. “For the last five months, each and every power loom worker has been getting `16,000 to `20,000 as salary. There has been no disruption to their employment,” said the official.
At a time when the textile industry in the country is facing crisis due to the pandemic, the weavers at Sircilla are fully employed, thanks to Bathukamma sarees.
The State government had allocated `350 crore for the production of 90 lakh sarees of 6.30 metres and 10 lakh sarees of 9 metres.