Dalit Bandhu: Yadamma’s leap from stigma to respect

Dalit Bandhu scheme transforms the life of this Bhongir woman, who, now, apart from earning about Rs 40,000 a month, employs two other women too

Yadadri-Bhongir: Gade Yadamma from Gudimalkapur village is still in a state of disbelief. It was just a couple of years ago that she was staring down the barrel, literally, thinking about how she would bring up her two daughters after her husband passed away.

It was not just about being a widow. Though she used to earn about Rs 4,000 a month doing a bit of tailoring work, a neurological disorder made it difficult for her to sit and work for long hours. The social stigma of being a Dalit and a widow at the same time began to weigh her down.

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It was then that Yadamma heard about the State government’s Dalit Bandhu scheme. She immediately applied for it and soon enough was allotted Rs 10 lakh. She used the money to set up a computerised embroidery and handworks centre at Choutuppal. Now, apart from earning about Rs 40,000 a month, she employs two other women too.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Yadamma says she does a business of Rs 70,000 per month. After paying her two assistants and other expenditure, she is left with Rs 40,000. Apart from managing to get proper treatment for her neurological defect, she has been able to clear the debts she incurred while struggling to educate her daughters.

Relatives and villagers, who used to look down upon her, now admire and respect her, she says, adding that now she dreams of buying farmland in her village, where she once used to work as a labourer. Yadamma is saving up for that now.

Another Dalit Bandhu beneficiary, also named G Yadamma from Narayanpur, runs a furniture shop at Choutuppal, thus enabling her husband and son to stop going for daily wage labour. Both assist her in the shop, which does a brisk business of Rs 1.2 lakh a month. The way their neighbours treat them has changed, she says, crediting the respect she has earned to Dalit Bandhu.