The Telangana government is gearing up for its annual plan of distributing 'Bathukamma' sarees, with Minister K T Rama Rao stating on Thursday that around 1.02 crore colourful sarees made by Sircilla weavers would be distributed across the state, starting from September 23. KTR is the legislator from Sircilla, which is known for its weaver community.
“This is the third successive year we are distributing the sarees as part of a two-pronged strategy of giving a gift to womenfolk for Dussehra festival and provide livelihood to weavers. We are spending Rs 313 crore for the scheme and overall we have spent Rs 715 crore,” KTR told reporters at a press meet on Thursday.
He added that every adult woman in the state over 18, with a white ration card, was eligible to receive the saree. Bathukamma is a popular folk festival in Telangana, which is celebrated by women during Dussehra.
Since 2017, the Telangana government has been distributing free sarees among women belonging to weaker sections of the society under this scheme.
"We have distributed clothes to Muslims on Ramzan and Christians on Christmas. But for Bathukamma festival, we have decided to gift sarees to the poor women from all communities and castes," Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had declared in 2017, while announcing the scheme.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government has also pointed out that the scheme provides work to weavers in the state.
"The State government has come to the rescue of powerloom weavers who earlier used to struggle with minimal wages. Through this project, the income of weavers has increased from Rs 8,000-12,000 to Rs16,000-20,000 per month," KTR told reporters.