Bathukamma sarees distribution soon

Hyderabad: Telangana leads the country in implementing dozens of welfare schemes for all sections of society, particularly women from rural areas. KCR Kits, Kalyana Laxmi and Shaadi Mubarak, single woman pension and Bathukamma sarees are among the several welfare schemes that have greatly helped the womenfolk in the State. And now, with less than a […]

Hyderabad: Telangana leads the country in implementing dozens of welfare schemes for all sections of society, particularly women from rural areas. KCR Kits, Kalyana Laxmi and Shaadi Mubarak, single woman pension and Bathukamma sarees are among the several welfare schemes that have greatly helped the womenfolk in the State.

And now, with less than a month left for the Bathukamma festivities to commence, the Handlooms Department has begun supply of Bathukamma sarees to districts and is awaiting the State government’s nod to launch the massive distribution exercise.

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Bathukamma, the floral festival, is expected to commence from October 6 and generally, the sarees are distributed a week before the festivities take off.

This year, the government placed an order for one crore sarees costing Rs 330 crore. Production of nearly 70 lakh sarees has been completed, of which 45 lakh sarees have already been dispatched to the districts, a senior official from Handlooms Department told Telangana Today.

“The department is waiting for the formal go ahead from the government to commence distribution of sarees to women,” he said. Considering Covid pandemic, the department has also issued some guidelines to be followed during distribution of sarees.

The district administrations have been given the option of distributing the sarees either through fair price shops or take up house-to-house distribution as per staff availability and other factors, the official said, adding that District Collectors will take a call on the saree distribution considering all these factors.

Unlike last year, this time around, the Handlooms department placed order for one crore sarees with 200 colourful and attractive designs and patterns. Despite the pandemic, the department ensured that weavers get sufficient material and yarn for weaving the sarees.

The Bathukamma sarees’ order have come as a blessing for the weavers. As part of its efforts to ensure uninterrupted work and ensure steady income, the order for Bathukamma sarees are being placed with Sircilla weavers for the past few years.

While weavers in neighbouring States did not get sufficient work due to the lockdown imposed early this year in the wake of the pandemic, weavers in Sircilla had their hands full, thanks to the Bhatukamma sarees order.

Even during lockdown, the supply of required material was arranged for the weavers. Though with limited staff, many master weavers managed to complete their quota of saree production slightly behind schedule.

Now, following heavy rains that lashed Sircilla last week, production could get a bit more delayed. Given the pounding, many residential areas got inundated and it will take some time for things to get back on track for the weavers, the official said.

Though it is a matter of concern, the department always maintains a buffer stock of sarees for distribution to avoid any delay in distribution before the festivities kick-start, the official added.

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