Hyderabad: Telangana minister Konda Surekha has written to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy seeking exemption of handloom products from the centralised tender system to safeguard the livelihood of thousands of weavers in the state.
In a letter, the Minister for Environment, Forests and Endowments said more than 50 handloom cooperative societies under the Warangal District Handloom Cooperative Societies Federation, representing nearly 5,000 workers, had for three decades supplied bedsheets, carpets, uniforms and other textile products to BC, SC, ST and Minority Welfare hostels, Gurukul institutions and other government educational institutions.
Surekha said the federation had repeatedly sought exemption of handloom products from the tender process, but no decision had been taken on the issue so far, causing concern among the workers.
She said she had personally visited a protest staged by elderly handloom workers and their families, heard their grievances and assured them that their demands would be taken up with the Chief Minister, following which the workers called off their agitation.
In her letter, the minister listed a set of demands raised by the workers during the interaction. These included procurement of carpets and bedsheets required by welfare departments exclusively through the Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society (TSCO), in line with government order (GO) 1, and issuance of advance purchase orders to TSCO every July to ensure continuous employment and timely supply of products before schools reopen in April.
The workers also sought immediate release of dues pending from TSCO to cooperative societies for the past seven months, clearance of pending government contributions and restoration of the 20 per cent yarn subsidy that had earlier been discontinued, which she said had placed the societies under financial stress.
A demand was also made for setting up a yarn depot in Warangal district on the lines of the one operating in Vemulawada.
Surekha urged the Chief Minister to consider the demands favourably, particularly the exemption of handloom products from the centralised tender system, saying such a decision would protect the livelihood of handloom workers and their families while ensuring an uninterrupted supply of quality products to government institutions.
She requested the government to issue suitable orders in this regard.
This post was last modified on July 2, 2026 6:53 pm