Come next week, most government offices are all set to wear a festive look as all male government officials across departments will come wearing ‘Dhotis’ to work.
Aptly titled ‘Vetti Dhinam’ or ‘Dhoti Day,’ the district is set to mark the day on January 13 and an official order has been issued by the District Collector of Madurai, L. Subramanian, which states that employees may willingly participate by adorning traditional clothes on that day.
The concept of this day was initiated following an appeal by Cooptex Managing Director U. Sagayam keeping in mind the welfare of the weavers who are a part of the Tamil Nadu Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society.
Officials from the district wing of Cooptex say that as many as 10,000 dhotis have been made available to mark the day. “The prices range from Rs. 150 to Rs. 600 and a 20 per cent discount is being offered as well,” said E. Paneerselvam, Sales Manager at Cooptex..
A special sales counter will begin functioning from Thursday at the ‘Manamagizh Mandram’ at the District Collectorate with a view to facilitate sales among the government employees and the visiting public who do not have to go to the showrooms.
The three Cooptex showrooms in the city located on South Chithirai Street, Goripalayam and Vengalakadai Street will also have dhotis on sale.
The sale of dhotis for the special day was initiated on Tuesday at the Vengalakadai Street showroom.
The ‘Dhoti Day’ has not been restricted only to male government employees.
Orders placedColleges and other organisations too have been notified about the same and institutions wishing to celebrate the day have been placing orders for dhotis.
Vivekananda College in Sholavandan has procured nearly 1,500 dhotis for its male faculty members and students who wish to buy the traditional attire, Co-optex officials said. The ‘Dhoti Day’ was celebrated in Tirunelveli on Monday with most male government employees including the District Collector, M. Karunakaran, donning the traditional ‘Vetti.’
