Tamil Nadu Powerloom Weavers Urge Swift Yarn Procurement for Timely Pongal Dhoti-Saree Production

With the Tamil Nadu government having issued an early directive for the production of free dhotis and sarees for the 2026 Pongal festival, the Tamil Nadu Federation of Powerloom Associations is now pressing for the immediate initiation of the yarn procurement tender process. This, they emphasize, is crucial to ensure that production can commence by early June 2025 and be completed by mid-December, facilitating timely distribution to beneficiaries. The Department of Handlooms, Handicrafts, Textiles and Khadi recently issued Government Order No. 69 on April 11, 2025, signalling the official commencement of preparations for the extensive scheme. The government has sanctioned an initial advance of ₹75 crore towards the total scheme outlay of ₹668 crore for the production phase. For the Pongal festival in 2026, the state requires a substantial quantity of 177.64 lakh sarees and 177.22 lakh dhotis for distribution to ration card holders and Old Age Pension scheme beneficiaries. While there is an existing stock of 31.54 lakh sarees and 33.12 lakh dhotis, a significant volume of 146.10 lakh sarees and 144.10 lakh dhotis still needs to be produced. The government has granted administrative sanction for this production target and released the initial tranche of funds. The Federation has expressed its gratitude to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and the concerned ministers and officials for the early issuance of the production order, a move they acknowledge as unprecedented in the state's history. They highlighted that in the previous year, powerlooms operating under 242 handloom cooperative weavers’ societies, utilizing approximately 68,000 looms, successfully produced around 1.77 crore dhotis and an equal number of sarees, providing significant employment for weavers and associated workers. However, the Federation also raised a concern that the surplus stock carried over from the previous year's production, which faced delays, might lead to a reduction in the production quantity this year, potentially impacting the employment duration for weavers involved in saree and dhoti manufacturing. They have requested the government to consider approving the same production volume as the previous year to mitigate this. In their appeal, the powerloom associations underscored the necessity of the yarn tender process commencing without delay. They stressed that floating the tenders immediately would enable yarn availability and allow production to begin in the last week of May or the first week of June. Completing production by December 15, they noted, would ensure that the dhotis and sarees are ready for distribution through ration shops starting January 1, 2026, allowing the public to celebrate Pongal with the traditional new attire.