Bathukamma sarees provide employment to weavers too: Koppula

Telangana was the only State that was providing new clothes to the poor on festivals. On pensions, Eashwar said that earlier, pensioners used to get only Rs.200.

Peddapalli: Welfare Minister Koppula Eashwar said the Bathukamma saree distribution programme was introduced by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao with the aim of providing employment to weavers as well, apart from as a gift to women celebrating the festival.

In erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, starvation deaths were common among Sircilla weavers, and the lives of weavers used to be in dire straits due to lack of work and no takers for their products. After the formation of a separate State, the Telangana government had launched the distribution of sarees to women on the occasion of Bathukamma. This in turn was planned in such that weavers too would benefit, he said, while distributing Bathukamma sarees to women and Aasara pensions to beneficiaries in Abbapur of Julampalli mandal on Sunday.

---

Stating that scores of families in the country were unable to purchase new clothes for festivals, the Minister said Telangana was the only State that was providing new clothes to the poor on festivals. On pensions, Eashwar said that earlier, pensioners used to get only Rs.200.

However, the Chief Minister had enhanced the pension amount by 10 times and was now providing Rs 2,016. About 10 lakh people got eligibility to get the pension with the State government’s decision to reduce the eligibility age to 57 years. 102 persons were getting the pension in Abbapur alone, he said.