Even as large swathes of tribal areas in composite Khammam district are reeling under the second wave of COVID-19, the ambitious plans of the Telangana State Girijan Cooperative Corporation (TSGCC) to promote tribal entrepreneurship and boost the sale of its “Giri” brand products appears to have come to a grinding halt.
The TSGCC’s plan to set up a Super Bazar at the two-bedroom (2BHK) Colony at Tekulapalli in Khammam urban mandal as part of its aggressive growth strategy has failed to take off due to the second wave of the pandemic.
For the Joint Liability Groups (JLBs) of tribal women, the pandemic has proved a bane hitting their enterprising ventures hard.
The tribal women-run soap and shampoo manufacturing unit in Bhadrachalam of Bhadradri-Kothagudem district is struggling to cope with the pandemic-induced crisis.
The closure of Ashram schools had a substantial impact on the tribal women-run unit which is the main supplier of soaps and shampoos to tribal welfare educational institutions.
The chilli/turmeric processing unit in Yellandu of Bhadradri-Kothagudem district and the moringa (drumstick) processing unit at Mucharla in Khammam district’s Kamepalli mandal are also hit by the pandemic crisis, sources said.
However, the TSGCC-run retail petrol/diesel outlets in the Agency mandals of Gundala and Mulakalapalli are generating revenue for the corporation amid the pandemic situation.
The production activities in all the self-employment units being run by tribal women groups will be resumed in a full-fledged manner once the situation returns to normal, said Kunja Vani, Manager, TGCC, Bhadrachalam division.
