The Sircilla powerloom cluster comprising as many as 139 Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies (MACs) and around 142 Small Scale Industries (SSIs) bagged various government orders for production of 6.98 crore metres of cloth worth around ₹350 crore in 2022-23.
The State government has placed an order for production of 4.85 crore metres of fabric with the MACs and SSIs in the textile hub of Sircilla for its Bathukamma sarees distribution scheme this year.
Bulk order
The powerloom cluster also received a bulk order to produce 97.94 lakh metres of uniform cloth under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme for supply to various State-run schools, sources said.
On an average, various government departments are placing orders to the tune of 9 crore metres of fabric worth about ₹500 crore with the MACs and SSIs in the Sircilla powerloom cluster per annum, giving a boost to the powerloom sector and benefiting around 10,000 families.
The Sircilla powerloom cluster, which once grappled with crisis and spate of suicides by distressed weavers over a decade ago, made a remarkable turnaround with renewed focus of the ruling TRS dispensation on ensuring regular production orders from different government departments to the MACs and SSIs.
The production capacity of the cluster consisting of 30,352 powerlooms and other allied units with a vast manpower stood at 12 lakh metres fabric per day.
