Kadapa Self-Help Group women to sew 1 crore masks

Kadapa: The Self-Help Group (SHG), women in Kadapa district, which is involved in various government schemes like paddy procurement, Podupulakshmi scheme, social auditing in National Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and others, are now shouldering the responsibility of sewing 1 crore masks for 25 lakh people in the district, says a source.

Manufacturing of masks have been divided in to two parts-one is by District Rural Development Agency(DRDA) in rural areas, while Mission For Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) in the towns.

According to district collector CH Harikiran it is meant to provide employment to the SHG women in the present crises.

He said that government will supply required raw material (cloth) through Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Ltd for the masks. "I hope about 50,000 masks would be supplied shortly," he said.

Talking to The Hans India, DRDA PD K Murali Manohar said that his department has identified as many as 1,000 tailors in 10 mandals and they are expected to stitch about two lakh masks every day. He said that government has already supplied 36,000 meters of cloth for the purpose.

He said that to avoid delay and other problems in making masks, SHG women were only proposed designed mask (stitching) and remaining cutting of cloth and fitting straps on four sides of masks will be handed over to other agencies.

However, the official said that it will cost Rs 3 to Rs 3.5 paise including cutting charges, cost of yarn, and wage to SHG on each mask.

Meanwhile, the MEPMA has identified 5,200 tailors in all municipalities in the district. It was decided to hand over cloth-cutting work to private agencies in Kadapa, Badvel, Potladurthy areas.

MEPMA PD A Ramamohan Reddy informed The Hans India that 30,000 meters of cloth was received from the government and works are under progress and expected to stitch 2 lakh masks per day.

"Involving SHG groups in stitching masks is a welcome decision by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

This kind of initiative not only an opportunity to showcase our skills but also to earn some money in this hour of crisis," says Talluri Ramanamma leader of Vijayalakshmi Group, Duvvuru mandal.