TamimAnsaria, Joint Collector, Annamayya District, Andhra Pradesh, said that the state government was working for the betterment of the weavers, by introducing various welfare schemes for them.
The 8th National Handloom Day was celebrated at the Handloom and Textile Department at the Government Junior College grounds, Rayachoti on 7th August. The Joint collector was speaking at this event after kickstarting the event with a Handloom Walk. He said that the slogan for the rally was ‘Let’s give handloom clothes our patronage as they give real identity to our existence.’ The weavers were given more encouragement on the account of National Handloom Day.
The government was providing marketing facilities for their products using the Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Ltd (APCO),an apexhandloom weavers cooperative society located in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. It gives them a platform to reach out to the customers and helps in facilitating buying and selling of their products. Under the YSR NetannaNestham Scheme, the state government has provided Rs 24,000 to each handloom worker for modernisation of looms. The Joint Collector further said that we should support the weavers by buying handloom clothes. The event was also graced by P. Srinivas Reddy, district officer, Department of Textiles, other public representatives, members of the handloom association, local leaders, handloom workers and many other participants.
Handloom Day in TN: Meanwhile, the National Handloom Day was celebrated in Salem, Tamil Nadu by organising a special handloom exhibition-cum-sale at the Salem Collectorate. This exhibition was inaugurated by Mayor A. Ramchandram, MLA R. Rajendran and MP S.R. Parthiban. The exhibition saw a variety of products including handloom sarees made of art silk and cotton, organic dhotis, shirts, bedsheets, towels and handkerchiefs, all made on handlooms. A special 20% discount was available on all these products.
The highlight of the event was the handing over of a welfare assistance of Rs 15.70 lakh to 43 weavers. Out of these, 12 weavers got Rs 50,000 each as loan under the Mudra Scheme, 21 weavers received Rs 8,60 lakh as financial assistance and 10 weavers received Rs 10,950 each worth of motors. Various officers like P. Menaha, District Revenue Officer, N. Srivijayalakshmi, Assistant Director, Salem Range Handloom Department and others were also present at the event.
At the same time, the National Handloom Day was also celebrated in Tirupur and Coimbatore districts of Tamil Nadu. MUDRA loans were disbursed to the weavers and special sales were organised on this occasion. G. S. Sameeran, Coimbatore Collector, inaugurated the sales at the Loom World. The event saw participation from over 63 weavers. S. Sivakumar, Assistant Director, (Handlooms), Coimbatore Circle, said that these sales would go on for a month and there would bea discount of 20%. They expected total sales of around Rs 5 lakh. Moreover, a health camp was organised for the weavers earlier at Sirumugai and on Sunday and the Collector distributed MUDRA loans worth Rs 50,000 each to 15 weavers.
An exhibition-cum-sale was also organised at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International School of Textiles and Management to celebrate the National Handloom Day. This 3-day expo has display of handloom and handicraft products including saree, kurtis, fashion accessories, curtains and dhotis.
In Tiruppur district, Collector S. Vineeth inaugurated a two-day exhibition-cum-sale of handloom products at the Collectorate on Sunday. About 30 weaver societies had displayed hand woven products, including bedsheets, towels and saris. Assistant Director (Handlooms), Tiruppur, K. Vetrivel said seven weavers received MUDRA loan of ₹50,000 each. The special sales, with 20 % discount, would be held on Monday too and the main aim was to create awareness among the public on the different kinds of handloom products. A similar exhibition would be held in colleges too, he said.
