Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Friday, April 19, released Rs 50 crore towards pending bills of power loom weavers in Ranjana-Sircilla district.
Bills to the tune of Rs 351 crore payable to weavers for making Bathukamma sarees have been pending since the BRS rule in the state, which has adversely affected 30,000 weavers’ families in Sircilla.
In addition to pending dues for Bathukamma sarees’ dues, direct subsidy of Rs 18 crore for yarn and matching grant of weavers’ savings and electricity subsidy have also been pending.
Weavers from Sircilla protested for 48 days, demanding that the pending bills and arrears be cleared. They recently held meetings with BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar, deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Vemulawada MLA and government whip Adi Srinivas to discuss their issues.
Ponnam Prabhakar had announced in Sircilla that the state government had agreed to release yarn subsidy and other dues within few days, and that the government would place the orders for cloth production. On his assurance, the weavers had decided to run their power looms from April 10.
Responding to the requests of the weavers, chief minister A Revanth Reddy directed the officials concerned to release the pending bills of Rs 50 crore, and assured that the rest of pending bills will be released soon.
The joint action committee, which was formed to raise their issues, has strongly warned both BRS and BJP that this is the victory of their united struggle and cautioned them not to use it for their political benefits.
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