The powerloom weavers were in a happy spot given the bulk orders placed by the State government for Bathukamma sarees recently. But now they are ecstatic with the Assembly elections around the corner, as they have their hands full with weaving campaign material, the orders for which have been given by almost all the political parties in the State.
The bulk orders for producing flags, banners, caps, shawls and other poll-related paraphernalia by TRS, Congress, TDP, BJP, Telangana Jana Sena and YSRC have been placed with the weavers.
Since 1978, the weavers at Sircilla have been engaged in producing campaign material for political parties and they have a set process to do so. They weave grey cloth first and dye it with different colours of the parties before processing the fabric for printing different designs on it. They take anywhere between ₹50 and ₹200 per banner depending on its size. Shawls and flags are printed at a cost of ₹20 to ₹50 a piece, while VIP shawls are produced at ₹100 per piece. During every election, they make a business of over ₹3 crore.
The weavers say that they would have more work in the coming days with the elections for local bodies, Legislative Council, municipalities and the Parliament.
On the other hand, the women in the town who were otherwise busy rolling beedies have shifted to producing campaign material. They earn ₹100 a day if they roll more than 1,000 beedies. But by working as tailors who give finishing touches to poll material, they earn ₹300 a day, says Vasantha, a resident of Sircilla town.
Refusing to disclose the details of the total profit they make during the elections, Murali, a weaver who is into producing election material, said the business was good when compared to the usual days. He said the weavers were expecting more work once the contesting candidates of all the political parties were finalised.