Weavers’ suicides in Telangana are murders by State Govt, says KTR
These could not be dismissed as suicides, but had to be seen as murder by the government, since it was the administration's neglect and vindictive policies against the initiatives started by the previous BRS government that led to this situation.
Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao held the Congress government responsible for the recent suicides of weavers, describing them as “government murders.”
He demanded that the State government restore the schemes initiated by the previous BRS government for weavers’ welfare and provide an ex gratia of Rs.25 lakh each to the bereaved families. In an open letter to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday, Rama Rao stated that the handloom sector, which thrived for the last 10 years, was now in crisis under the Congress administration.
He said the government’s partisan decision to stop welfare programmes of the BRS regime left weavers jobless, leading to the shutdown of power looms and pushing workers into severe financial distress.
The BRS working president pointed out that at least 10 weavers from different parts of the State committed suicides, which were a result of the State government’s neglect and policy reversals.
He reminded that the previous BRS government initiated schemes like as Cheneta Mitra, Netannaku Cheyuta, thrift fund, yarn subsidy and Netanna ku Bima, which had provided substantial support to the weavers.
The previous BRS government had also placed orders for all government needs including cloth requirement for government schools and hospitals, besides implementing the Bathukamma sarees scheme, which ensured employment for weavers for at least eight months in a year.
“The previous BRS government worked tirelessly to modernise looms, waive loans and establish market linkages, ensuring continuous employment for weavers. These efforts had significantly reduced suicides and brought stability to the industry,” he added.
Rama Rao urged the Congress government to continue these programmes and implement their own manifesto promises, including a 90 per cent subsidy on power looms and weaving equipment.
He appealed to the Chief Minister to act with humanity and provide livelihood for the weavers by placing fresh government orders. He said the tragic suicides of 10 weavers due to lack of employment and mounting debts must serve as a wake-up call for the Congress administration, demanding swift action to alleviate the crisis in the handloom sector. Despite numerous appeals, he said there was no response from the State government, forcing desperate weavers to take their own lives.
“If these measures are not taken immediately, the BRS will launch a State-wide protest to support the weavers and safeguard the rights,” he warned.
List of specific cases of weavers who died by suicide:
Guggilla Naresh from Khammam (January 20)
Penti Venkanna from Khammam (March 17)
Tadaka Srinivas from Sircilla (March 13)
Siripuram Lakshminarayana from Sircilla (April 7)
Eega Raju from Sircilla (April 25)
Adicherla Sai from Sircilla (April 26)
Ankarapu Mallesham from Sircilla (April 26)
Chintoju Ramesh from Sircilla (May 23)
Kudikyala Nagaraju from Sircilla (June 22)
Venkatesham from Karimnagar (June 16) EOM
