The Weavers United Joint Action Committee (WUJAC) has demanded that the State government take steps to open the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park at the earliest and provide employment to local weavers as well as workers migrated from the north Telangana region there.
The WUJAC demanded that the government provide ₹ 5 lakh insurance to cover to all weavers free of cost and ensure provision of ₹ 36,000 as annual investment assistance to Telangana weavers on the lines of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. The government should take steps to provide plots to weavers for houses as well as setting up worksheds besides providing health cards to them.
JAC chairman Dasu Suresh requested the government to sanction ex-gratia of ₹ 10 lakh each to families of more than 300 weavers who died recently besides taking steps to ensure linking of the domestic handloom market with the international markets. He lamented that suicides by weavers were continuing in Telangana in spite of the promises made by the ruling TRS for mitigating their distress in the run up to the previous elections. The government on its part did not even console the bereaved families which lost their breadwinners.
He demanded that the government take steps to upgrading skills of weavers to withstand competition internationally and exempt handloom raw material from the GST. A Weavers Welfare Trust for the welfare of the community should be constituted if need be by levying 2% cess on the sale of handloom, textile industries as well as business establishments dealing with clothing, he added.
Source: The Hindu, India Tuesday, 07 January 2020