Allocate `1,000 crore for weavers' welfare schemes, Centre urged

Vijayawada NTR district): The Rashtra Chenetha Jana Samakhya has demanded the government for the establishment of handloom textile purchasing units across the State to stop weavers' migration. It also requested the government for lifting GST on handlooms and demanded enactment and enforcement of a new Act to contain power looms production, which causes great damage to the weavers' livelihood.

Chenetha Jana Samakya has organised a State-level conference at Kandukuri Kalyana Mandapam near Gymkhana Grounds in Vijayawada on Thursday for discussing the problems of the weavers. Around 350 members of the Samakhya and members from various weaver societies from 26 districts across the State have attended the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, Samakhya founder-president and convenor Macharla Mohana Rao and other speakers demanded the Centre and State governments to allocate Rs 1,000 and Rs 600 crores respectively in the respective budgets to help the weavers. They also requested sanctioning of Mudra loans and implementing Thrift fund cum savings security schemes properly to all the eligible weavers.

Most of those attended the meeting insisted on conducting surveys over looms and sanctioning ID cards as per the survey. Weavers also implored the State government to give 30 per cent subsidy on cotton, silk and zari yarn. The department of the Handlooms and Textiles must review the prices of the yarn every three months and fix reasonable rates, they urged. Samakhya State president Devana Veera Nageswar Rao, executive members Gunturu MalliKarjuna Rao, Madaka Rammohan, Gudla Nagaraju, Dasaradhi, S Murali, Gurumurthy and others attended the meeting.