Government Plans to Revive Handloom Park to Check Migration of Weavers in Mahbubnagar.

The state government’s proposal to revive the Handloom Park project at Putanpally village in Gadwal mandal, at an expense of Rs. 65 crore, is expected to provide employment to nearly 20,000 people in the district.

With the new move, the government is hopeful of controlling the growing migration of handloom weavers to cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai.

Former Chief Minister of erstwhile AP late YS Rajashekara Reddy had laid the foundation stone for a handloom park at Putanpally village in Gadwal Mandal in May 2007. The government had also allotted 50 acres of land for the project. The main aim of the project was to protect the livelihood of around 500 families of weavers and the government had sanctioned Rs 3 crores for it. But the project was ignored after laying foundation stone.

In 2010, the government sanctioned Rs 50 lakh for the project. But tenders were cancelled due to local politics and bickerings among traders. After formation of Telanagana state, the state government decided to revive the project.

There are plans to establish a dying unit, a neta bazar, warping, computer and design units. The state government has already issued orders to ensure development of all these facilities in the park.

Since Gadwal and Alampur in the district are famous for Gadwal sarees, the government is hopeful of promoting the brand through the handloom.

At present there are 3,500 families dependant on handloom industry in the district. The government has already identified 300 weavers who are migrating to other places due to lack of job opportunities.

Speaking to Express, Randheer Singh, State additional director for Handlooms said that the government is keen to redesign the project and integrate all Handloom related industries in the park. “A preliminary proposal of Rs 65 crores has been prepared by National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NIMSME) for developing the Handloom Hub in Gadwal. We are expecting a revised proposal by the end of this month. We want to develop the handloom park in three phases,” he added.

In the first phase, we want to develop internal roads, common facilities and individual sheds. Initially the park will accommodate 300 weavers and facilities will be developed accordingly, said Randheer.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS