The powerloom weavers of Sircilla are back to work in full steam, with special focus on production of Bathukamma sarees from Wednesday onwards.
The textile town has turned into a beehive of activity with the powerlooms, which remained silent for about 45 days following lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19, springing back to life again.
Following the lockdown, the weavers were a worried about being unemployed. Recently, Minister for IT and Municipal Administration K Taraka Rama Rao directed the district authorities to provide financial assistance of ₹ 500 per head and other ₹ 500 worth essential commodities to each weaver following the crisis in the sector.
Freshly, he took initiative to exempt the Sircilla powerloom industry from lockdown and help the weavers secure employment by resuming work on Bathukamma sarees. The weavers heaved a sigh of relief and accorded top priority to weaving of the sarees, which had just started and in initial stages of production when lockdown was announced. The State government had placed orders to weave 1.05 crore sarees totalling to 7 crore metres, worth ₹ 350 crore. Initially, it was decided to produce all the Bathukamma sarees by August 2020. But, due to the lockdown, the weavers failed to achieve the targeted production. Against a total of 30,000 powerlooms in the town, more than 22,000 looms are being used only for weaving 225 varieties of Bathukamma sarees.
Assistant director (handlooms and textile) P Ashok Rao said the weavers and owners were told to ensure that they maintain physical distance, wear masks and use sanitisers at the workplace. Naturally, there is a physical distance between a weaver and another weaver working on the looms. But we had instructed the weavers to strictly adhere to the government rules and regulations on physical distance and wearing of masks, he stated.
“We had also instructed the weavers to avoid eating pan and other tobacco products and spitting at the work site. We also told them to avoid moving in groups during lunch break and eat food separately and not to share the food items,” he stated.
