Handlooms, GGC products to be sold under one roof

Vijayawada: Handloomsand textiles minister S Savitha announced that the state government is taking steps to set up commercial complexes where Apco, Lepakshi and Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) products — including Araku Coffee — will be sold at a single location.

As part of the first phase, such commercial hubs will be established in five major cities across the country, including three locations in Andhra Pradesh-Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati.

The minister said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had instructed officials to ensure that handloom, handicraft and tribal products are made easily accessible to consumers under one roof, thereby providing sustainable income for weavers, artisans and tribal communities.

Savitha said an exhibition of handlooms and handicrafts will be organised in Tirupati from December 20, coinciding with the Mukkoti Ekadashi festival. The exhibition will run for 22 days until January 10.

Earlier, similar exhibitions held in Vijayawada, Guntur and Rajahmundry received overwhelming public response, she added. Given the heavy influx of devotees to Tirupati during Mukkoti Ekadashi, the government aims to tap the opportunity to showcase traditional crafts on a large scale.

The minister further announced that Lepakshi Week celebrations will be held nationwide from December 8 to 14. In Andhra Pradesh, district-level festivities will be conducted as part of the initiative. Savitha said she will participate in the Lepakshi celebrations scheduled in Kadapa on December 11 and instructed officials to ensure that the events are organised grandly across the State.

The minister chaired a review at a hotel in Vijayawada on Friday, attended by Apco and Lepakshi honorary advisor Suchitra Ella, special chief secretary R P Sisodia, commissioner Rekha Rani and Lepakshi managing director Vishwa.

The meeting focused on strengthening the livelihoods of weavers, artisans and tribal producers by expanding market access through integrated commercial complexes.