Handloom weavers set to lose livelihood with Congress Govt.’s decision to procure carpets and bed sheets through open-market tender process
Handloom leaders in Warangal have opposed the Telangana government's decision to procure carpets and bed sheets through open-market tenders instead of TGSCO. They warn the move could affect around 10,000 families and have announced protests seeking withdrawal of the decision
Warangal: The Congress government’s decision to procure carpets and bed sheets to be supplied to government institutions through an open-market tender process involving private firms instead of TGSCO is likely to affect the livelihood of around 10,000 families.
Opposition to the decision is coming from within the Congress, as TPCC Handloom Wing state president and labour leader Chippa Venkateswarlu of Warangal said, “What this government is doing to the handloom industry has not been done by any other government in the past.”
It may be noted that every year, the government places orders to procure livery cloth, bed sheets and carpets required by SC/ST, BC hostels and Gurukuls through Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Limited (TGSCO). A March 2024 order, GO Ms. No. 1, mandates all departments to procure handloom products through it.
Speaking to Telangana Today, Venkateswarlu stated that the government’s decision to procure the material through an open tender would adversely impact the lives of handloom weavers across cooperative societies in the undivided Warangal region and parts of Karimnagar district.
He informed that representations had been submitted to Ministers Konda Surekha, Ponnam Prabhakar and Tummala Nageswara Rao, MP Vem Narender Reddy and CMO officials to address the issue, but to no avail.
At present, there are around four lakh units of material available with weavers in Warangal district alone. Despite an assurance to purchase one lakh units from handloom weavers, nothing has been done so far in that direction, Venkateswarlu noted.
Some officials have misled leaders and initiated the tender process, sidelining the handloom products of Warangal district, which hold Geographical Indication (GI) and patent rights. Unless the products continue to be procured through TGSCO as usual, workers face the risk of losing their jobs, he said.
CPI(M) leader Tatipamula Venkata Ramulu felt that since the government was unresponsive to the issue, all handloom weavers should voice their protest and demand the abolition of the tender system to safeguard the handloom industry.
Bhupalpally Padmashali Workers’ Union president Bhimanadhula Satyanarayana stated that the handloom industry is the heart of Warangal district and its products are renowned worldwide; a suppressive attitude towards such high-quality textile products is inappropriate.
The leaders informed that they would launch a series of protests to put pressure on the government to withdraw its decision and that a massive rally would be taken up in Warangal next Monday to register their protest.
