National Handloom Day: KTR urges State, Union Govts to resume welfare schemes for weavers

In a statement, Rama Rao praised Telangana's progress in the handloom sector during the ten-year BRS tenure, describing it as a 'golden era' for weavers in the nation's history. He credited this advancement to the visionary leadership of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who introduced several innovative schemes to support and uplift the sector.

Hyderabad: Extending greetings to weavers on the occasion of National Handloom Day, BRS working president KT Rama Rao urged the Central and the State governments to recognise the contribution of weavers to the society and continue the beneficial schemes to rescue the handloom sector from crisis. He urged them to continue the welfare and development schemes beneficial to weavers and rescue the handloom industry from crisis.

In a statement, Rama Rao said Telangana made significant strides in the handloom sector during the ten-year BRS tenure, calling it a ‘golden era’ for weavers in the nation’s history. He attributed the progress of the weavers to the visionary leadership of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who introduced several innovative schemes to uplift the sector. Under the BRS regime, the annual budget for the handloom sector was increased to Rs 1,200 crore, compared to Rs 600 crore over six years under the previous governments in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.

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He recalled the key initiatives by the BRS including ‘Cheneta Mitra’ subsidy scheme, ‘Nethannaku Cheyuta’ thrift fund, and ‘Netannaku Bima’ providing life insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh to the families of 36,000 weavers. Additionally, a loan waiver of Rs 29 crore was granted to 10,150 handloom workers, along with a support pension for artisans.

Rama Rao also mentioned the distribution of Bathukamma sarees to Telangana women which helped the weavers earn a remunerative income, the establishment of the Apparel Park in Sircilla and the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park in Warangal as transformative projects.

He contrasted it with the BJP government for its policies detrimental to the handloom sector, including the imposition of GST on handlooms and the abolition of various support boards and schemes by the Union government. He stated that under the Revanth Reddy government, the handloom sector of Telangana was pushed back into crisis, with weavers’ suicides being reported everyday again.