The lockdown-hit handloom weavers in Chirala have urged the State government to lend a helping hand to them to tide over the worst-ever crisis faced by the sector.
The house-cum-sheds of the weavers have sunk into silence since the lockdown 1.0 was imposed to combat coronavirus. The weavers used to get maximum orders since Sankranti (harvest festival) in January and the sales peak coinciding with Ugadi (Telugu new year).
With the country-wide lockdown in force, there are no takers for the colourful sarees and other products produced by them now. People who used to make beelines to the weavers house-cum-worksheds to make purchases for marriages and other social occasions have also put off their visits.
All India Handloom Rights Forum State secretary B. Jwala Narasimham said weavers were in dire straits as over 81,000 looms, including over 7000 in Prakasam district, were idling now.
The State government should purchase the unsold stocks with the weavers and ensure supply of inputs like yarn and dyes for the starving weavers immediately for them to survive during the most difficult times, he said.
The list prepared by village volunteers under Nethanna Nestham should be the basis for providing assistance to the weavers as a majority of the handloom cooperative societies were steeped in corruption, Mr. Narasimham said. He demanded a probe into the functioning of the cooperative societies to unearth irregularities.