Ongole: Protests by weavers mark National Handloom Day

Ongole: Even as the local administrations observed the National Handloom Day on Friday by encouraging the use of handloom clothes, many handloom workers protested against the unexpected decision of the Union government abolishing the All India Handloom Board and All India Handicrafts Board.

The handloom weavers and handicraft artisans from the surrounding areas of Chirala joined hands with their co-artisans across the country in the protests on Friday and organised a demonstration at the Karna Subbaraya Kalavedika in Devangapuri under the leadership of Rashtra Chenetha Jana Samakhya and National Federation of Handlooms and Handicrafts.

The leaders of the weavers and handicraft workers, Macherla Mohan Rao, Vavilala Dasaradhi, Karna Hanumantha Rao, G Mallikharjuna Rao, and others said that the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India has abolished the All India Handlooms Board on July 29, 2020, and All India Handicrafts Board on August 4, 2020, by passing resolutions through the development commissioners of the respective boards. They said that the ministry explained in the gazette the boards are abolished "in consonance with the Government of India vision of 'Minimum Government and Maximum Governance' and leaner government machinery and the need for systematic rationalization of government bodies."

Mohan Rao and others said that the handicrafts board was established in 1952 by Pupul Jayakar and was handled by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay with objectives of supply of raw materials, to provide marketing facilities, credit, research on products and utilization of local materials, and to establish regional centers for handicrafts and handlooms. Based on the increasing need, the government constituted the All India Handloom Board in 1992, they added.

They said that the commissioners of the board passed the resolutions to abolish the boards by considering just the official members, but not considering the nonofficial members. They said that 88 out of the total 114 members of All India Handicrafts Board are nonofficial members and 8 institutional members. They said that the government is said to be supporting the Make in India and Vocal for Local movements, but is actually killing the opportunities and support to the handmade products in the country with decisions like this.

They demanded that the Union government reconstitute the All India Handloom and Handicraft Boards with eminent and experienced personalities, who are deeply involved in the sectors as the members of the boards immediately.