Technology becomes a godsend for Andhra's Venkatagiri saree traders amid pandemic

NELLORE: After hitting hard during the three-month lockdown and in the aftermath, traders of the famous Venkatagiri sarees are now heaving a sigh of relief, thanks to the online trading, which has made purchasing more flexible.

The traders have faced heavy losses during the lockdown as transportation between States had come to a grinding halt. Normally, Venkatagiri witnesses huge rush with traders and consumers, even from Tamil Nadu, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, dashing into the outlets for buying sarees, especially before Dasara and Diwali. Now, online trading has come as a godsend to the traders. 

Venkatagiri sarees, the 18th Indian saree category to get Geographical Indication (GI) tag, are made of pure cotton and have excellent design work and attractive finishing. In fact, Venkatagiri  weavers are also trained in weaving of a variety of silk sarees, but hand-woven sarees, which have a 300-year-old history, are much in demand. 

Traders purchase sarees from master weavers and mini-master weavers and, in turn, sell them to consumers across the country. There are 3,000 looms in Venkatagiri. Traders export sarees to popular showrooms in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and other cities across the country. 

"Now, we send various saree models to traders and consumers through WhatsApp. If they like the models, they will place the order. Not only traders, the consumers from different parts of the Telugu States book sarees through WhatsApp. We are appealing to consumers to share our contact numbers with their relatives and friends, which will increase sales of the sarees," K Sivarami Reddy, a trader, said. 

Even after the restrictions were eased, no trader visited the showrooms for purchasing sarees. "The traders of the town have been getting orders in bulk from other States such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka through WhatsApp. Traders from north eastern States used to visit Venkatagiri before Dasara and Diwali to order sarees in bulk. Traders having contacts with owners of local outlets contact them over the phone and place orders," another trader NV Rao said. 

Meanwhile, those consumers having contact numbers of the owners of the showrooms visit Venkatagiri or book the sarees online. "We are getting sarees at our doorstep and we transfer cash online to the traders," K Supraja of Udayagiri said.