Four-day Handloom Bazaar opens in Vijayawada

Vijayawada: Moved by the plight of the handicrafts artisans, including handloom workers, the Crafts Council of Andhra Pradesh is organising a four-day Handloom Bazaar at the PVP Mall here from Friday on the eve of the birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.

S Ranjana, secretary of the Crafts Council of Andhra Pradesh, the non-governmental organisation committed to help the artisans, inaugurating the Handloom Bazaar said that the coronavirus destructed the lives of artisans who lost livelihood. In this backdrop, it has become very difficult for them to sell the products. "We approached the management of the PVP Mall to provide space for the artisans and they obliged," she said. She thanked the PVP management for their generous gesture.

Ranjana said that it would help the artisans to offload their material to some extent in these four days. She said that it was only the beginning and a lot more is to be done for the welfare of the artisans. The Crafts Council would introduce more programmes to improve the life standards of handloom workers and artisans.

Workshops would be conducted and roadmaps would be drawn to improve their business, she said, adding that handicraft and handlooms would be introduced in the school curriculum.

As part of the expo, the Crafts Council of Andhra Pradesh conducted a quiz programme for the students of Siddhartha MahilaKalasala on the premises.

The Handloom Bazaar presents stone crafts from Narasaraopet and Durgi, cutlery from Udayagiri, durries from Warangal, sarees and dress material from Venkatagiri, Morri, Angara, Pulugurtha, Peteru, Isukupalli, Rajvolu, Mangalagiri, Challapallli, Peddapuram, Ikkat from Koyyalagudem, Khaddar from Ponduru, Kalamkari from Pedana and Peteru.