The free distribution of saris for below-the-poverty line women on the eve of Batukamma festival will be taken up across the State for three days from Monday. About 1.04 crore saris will be distributed at special counters in villages, towns and cities under the supervision of District Collectors.
A government release said the saris were procured at a cost of ₹222 crore from power loom workers of Sircilla and Surat in Gujarat to produce 7 crore metres of cloth and convert it into saris in 500 designs and hundreds of colours. The saris will be handed over to all women above the age of 18 whose names figured in white ration cards. While 52 lakh saris were procured from weavers in Telangana, the remaining were sourced to Surat and other towns due to time constraint after inviting tenders at national level. But, the work will be handled solely in Telangana from next year. The weavers of Sircilla got work orders worth ₹70 crore and fully employed for two and a half months.
The programme was a result of an interaction of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao with weavers at his camp office here 3 months ago in a bid to bail them out of financial crisis. Mr. Rao assured them that the govt. would take up programmes ensuring each one of them a minimum income of ₹15,000 a month.
Textiles Director Shailaja Ramaiyer got hundreds of designs for saris prepared, out of which officials in the CMO were involved in the final selection. About 80 per cent of saris have already reached godowns in districts, the release added.
