Warangal: Solace for weavers as Telangana government releases 6 crore

Warangal: At a time the working class associated with other professions have been wilting under the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, as many as 1,973 weavers in Warangal Urban district and 394 in Warangal Rural have something to cheer with the government releasing nearly Rs 6 crore accrued under the Telangana Handloom Weavers Thrift Fund Saving and Security Scheme (TFSSS) – Nethanna ku Cheyutha.

While the weavers in Urban district had saved about Rs 1.98 crore and the government added Rs 3.97 crore as its share under the scheme. In the Rural district, while the weavers' savings amounted to Rs 42.33 lakh, the government's share was Rs 84.67 lakh.

It may be mentioned here that in a bid to increase the monthly income of handloom workers, the government initiated the scheme in 2017. As per the scheme the beneficiaries should contribute a share of 8 per cent towards the savings scheme, while the share of the government will be 16 per cent. Each month, the beneficiaries' share will be contributed to the RD1 account while the governments share will be credited to the RD2 account. The beneficiaries can withdraw the amount from both the accounts after a minimum of three-year lock-in period.

Even though the mandatory lock-in period of three years from the time of joining the scheme to redeem the amount was not completed, the Minister for IT and Industries K T Rama Rao had directed the officials to release the funds so that the weavers could heave a sigh of relief from the financial pangs inflicted by the Covid-19. The government's gesture to release Rs 93 crore would benefit more than 26,000 weavers in the State.

According to officials, each weaver will now receive anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1.25 lakh based on their savings under the scheme.

Speaking to The Hans India, the Assistant Director of the Handlooms and Textile, Warangal, G Raghava Rao said, "The government introduced various programmes to create a demand for the handloom products besides initiating several schemes to benefit the weavers. Nethanna ku Cheyutha is one of those schemes and it came off well when the weavers needed it most."

S Ravindra, the Handlooms and Textile Assistant Development Officer, Warangal Urban District, said that the weavers in the region are adapting from customary handloom textiles to highly fashionable fabrics such as himroo. "Three weavers - Vemula Mallaiah (Himroo), Mamidi Sammaiah (Himroo) and Koduri Rajender (Durries) – have been selected for the Konda Laxman Bapuji State Awards-2020 as part of the National Handloom Day to be celebrated on Friday (August 7)," Ravindra said.