Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao on Wednesday urged the governments at the Centre and in Telangana to continue the welfare scheme for weavers and “rescue the handloom sector from the crisis”.
Claiming that the BRS government during the last 10 years undertook several initiatives for the welfare of weavers, he demanded that the Central and state governments implement the same schemes.
KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, in a statement claimed that the 10-year rule of BRS was a golden era for weavers in the nation’s history as the handloom sector made rapid strides during the period.
The former minister said that the BRS government under the visionary leadership of K. Chandrasekhar Rao launched several innovative schemes for the development of the handloom sector and the welfare of weavers.
He said under the BRS rule, the annual budget for the handloom sector was doubled to Rs 1,200 crore, compared to six years under the previous governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
KTR listed out the key schemes implemented by the BRS government. These include ‘Chenetha Mitra’ subsidy scheme, ‘Nethannaku Cheyuta’ thrift fund, and ‘Netannaku Bima’, under which life insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh was provided to the families of 36,000 weavers. The previous government also waived loans to the tune of Rs 29 crore, benefiting 10,150 handloom workers.
The BRS leader, who represents the Sircilla Assembly constituency famous for its textile town, said the BRS government had also launched an innovative scheme for distribution of Bathukamma sarees to Telangana women to help the weavers earn a remunerative income. He also cited the establishment of the Apparel Park in Sircilla and the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park in Warangal as the other initiatives to strengthen the sector.
“BRS took many steps for the development of the handloom sector and the welfare of weavers. The BJP government at Centre adopted policies which were detrimental to the sector. GST was imposed on handlooms while All India Handloom Board, All India Handicrafts Board and All Indian Powerloom Board were abolished. Even the schemes for the welfare of weavers were scrapped and the subsidy on yarn was reduced from 40 per cent to 15 per cent,” KTR said.
The BRS leader alleged that under the Revanth Reddy government, the handloom sector of Telangana once again slipped into crisis, with weavers’ suicides being reported every day.