SANGAREDDY: Women-run self-help groups (SHGs) have heralded a financial revolution for rural women across the state. While these women have shown that they can achieve remarkable economic growth with government support, the administration is also pushing them towards financial independence. In a move that will bolster the earnings of SHGs, the government has given them the contract to stitch the uniforms for government school students from classes 2 to 10.
These SHGs, which already operate sewing training centres and provide uniforms for private school students, are now busy with the government’s large order. The government pays Rs 50 for sewing a pair of clothes, and the women have taken on the challenge.
An average woman sews 50 to 80 shirts every day. In the erstwhile Medak district, nearly three lakh students will receive new school uniforms. District Collector Valluru Kranthi has sanctioned a stitching centre for SHGs in the Rural Development Department building in Sangareddy. Officials have been told to ensure that the uniforms are ready before the school year begins. Women here are making uniforms for students from Sangareddy and Kandi mandals.
A total of 1,03,819 students in 1,250 schools and 108 hostels in Sangareddy district will receive uniforms. District Educational Officer Venkateshwar Rao says there are 55 stitching centres in the district.
Yasmin, an SHG member, says she sews a shirt in 15 to 20 minutes and completes at least 70 shirts a day. She earns between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 daily.
Zubeda Parveen, president of Sai Chaitanya Group, which runs the centre, explains that private tailors take longer as they need to measure, cut and sew each dress individually. In contrast, since these are uniforms, they can cut 500 pieces of cloth at a time with their modern cutting machine. The Sangareddy centre has recently acquired modern sewing machines, financed by a Rs 25 lakh bank loan, which allows them to complete tasks quickly. They also have a button sewing machine, enabling them to produce more pairs of clothes in a shorter time. While the government pays Rs 50 per dress, with Rs 10 spent on materials and stitching charges, Parveen believes this rate should be increased.
Meanwhile, project director Srinivas says that SHGs are stitching school dresses for 75,000 students in government and Panchayat Raj schools in Medak district. About 83,000 students in Siddipet district schools run by the government and Panchayat Raj departments are also receiving dresses stitched by women’s groups. Additionally, women are sewing dresses for Minority, BC, SC and ST welfare hostels and Gurukulam schools.