Sircilla weavers get order worth Rs.350 crore for Bathukamma sarees

Karimnagar: Weavers in Sircilla have bagged an order worth a staggering Rs.350 crore to weave 95.5 lakh Bathukamma sarees. The order was placed by the State government.

Continuing the tradition it has followed in previous years, the State government placed the order to weave 500 varieties of saris in 21 colors and 25 designs.

Out of the 95.9 lakh sarees, 7.8 lakh sarees will be weaved in nine metre stretch using 70.2 lakh metre of cloth. The nine metre sarees are intended to be distributed to elderly women. Both sarees and blouse pieces will be given separately, officials said.

139 mutually aided cooperative societies (MACS) and 126 small scall industry (SSI) units from Sircilla will be involved in the making of the sarees. While the MACS were given orders to weave 64,03,600 saris, the SSI units were given orders for 31,87,100 saris. The government has fixed a target to complete the weaving of all



saris by August 15.

Besides 16,000 powerlooms, 15,000 workers engaged in allied sectors will also get employment with the Bathukamma saree order, earning Rs.15,000 to Rs.18,000 per month.

The State government has been giving them different orders every year since the formation of the State in order to ensure employment and to put an end to weaver suicides.

From 2017, the State government also started giving Bathukamma saree orders to provide more income to the community. Besides providing employment to weavers, the saris are distributed to women as the State government’s gift on the occasion of Bathukamma.

Earlier, the government used to give orders through the Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society. However, this year, the order was placed through the Telangana Powerloom Textile Development Corporation, officials said.