Govt taking measures for weavers' welfare

Hyderabad, Sep 22 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh Congress Legislature Party (CLP) today said the state government had taken several measures, including providing pensions and construction of houses, for the welfare of weavers in the state.

In a statement, Legislative Council members R Padmaraju and Gangabhavani said the government had established a Textile park in Sircilla in Karimnagar district with a view to help handloom weavers, and several industries were already functioning there while others were under construction.

He said the government had increased the budget allocation from Rs 39 crore during 2003-04 to Rs 164 crore for the current financial year for the handloom sector.

The government was providing pension to weavers at the rate of Rs 200 per month after attaining the age of 50 years. The government had sanctioned old age pensions to 87,805 handloom workers. In addition to constructing the houses for weavers, the government was also sanctioning Rs 36,000 for them to construct the weaving sheds.

They alleged that Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) founder, actor Chiranjeevi was shedding crocodile tears on the condition of weavers community during his recent visit to Sircilla and failed to visit the textile park to witness the development taking place there.

They charged that PRP official spokesperson P Seshavatharam was making statements without knowing the difference between handloom and powerloom workers.

They said the Congress was ready to prove the development in Textile Park to PRP, if its leaders came along with them.

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