The Hindu Business Line : More AP handlooms angling for GI tag

After Pochampally handlooms, it is the turn of Gadwal, Uppada and Dharmavaram handlooms to aspire for the Geographical Indication or GI, which gives the weavers protection over the use of the tag in the national and international markets.

Sarees and other handlooms of these places are very popular all over the country. The GI status would give the weavers from these towns to get more revenues by selling licences to market these products globally.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr G. Vinod, Minister for Textiles and Labour, said Nabard had sanctioned Rs 4.5 lakh for helping the weavers' cooperatives to get GI registration.

Besides, the Government had taken up measures to increase sales through APCO outlets.

In November, the Government issued an Order, mandating all the devasthanams, including the rich Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), to buy cloth from APCO. As a follow-up TTD had placed a huge order for supply of sarees and dhotis for 50,000 mass weddings it planned during the year.

The Society, which registered a turnover of Rs 112 crore in 2005-06, targeted to cross the Rs 150-crore mark this financial year.

"We are also talking to the Railways, State road transport utility and some other departments to persuade them to source their cloth requirement from the society," the Minister said.

Rahejas plan SEZ

Giving a list of textile parks and clusters coming up in the State, the Minister said Raheja group would develop a 250-acre special economic zone (SEZ) at Hindupur. The SEZ was expected to attract investments to the tune of Rs 500 crore.

Meanwhile, the Government had given an ex-gratia of Rs 1.50 lakh each to the kin of weavers who committed suicide during 1997 and 2004.

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