Weavers welfare policy in the offing

​Hyderabad: Telangana State Government is all set to introduce an exclusive and comprehensive policy for the welfare and development of weavers’ community soon.

At a review meeting on handloom and power loom workers at Pragathi Bhavan here, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao instructed the officials concerned to initiate all measures for the action plan as majority of handloom weavers had fallen into debt trap and are working as daily wage labourers in the power loom industry.

The chief minister said that government should come to the rescue of the weavers with an action plan by creating a market for their products.

The government should place orders for them. In this context, he said that handloom weavers should be given bulk orders pertaining to school uniforms, uniforms for police personnel, clothes required for the hospitals, blankets required for the government hostels etc.

He also reminded that Narayanpet, Gadwal and Pochampally are known for their beautiful hand-woven silk sarees. “These brands have an international market and they should be given support and help. In Hyderabad, in the past, Gollabhama sarees of Siddipet used to be on sale and such specialty brands should be encouraged and their past glory should be restored,” he said.

He also added measures should be taken to give subsidy on raw material required. Chief Advisor to the Government Rajiv Sharma, Principal Secretaries S Narsing Rao, Shanti Kumari and other officials were present in the meeting.