Without means of livelihood and trapped in debt, weavers resort to ‘suicide’ in textile hub Telangana

Karimnagar: The ‘recent’ suicide of a weaver in Telangana’s Sircilla has highlighted the alleged lack of adequate work and income in the textile hub, with the issue leading to a war of words between the opposition BRS and the Congress.

Kudikyala Nagaraju recently committed suicide as he was unable to repay his debts, reminiscent of the tragedy of weavers taking their own lives in the past.

While it is claimed that 10 weavers have ended their lives since the beginning of the year, the government puts the number at six, even as the BRS has attacked the ruling Congress over the issue.

Nagaraju (47), a weaver, committed suicide recently by consuming acid in Sircilla.

“My husband borrowed some amount and did not repay the lenders. He could not afford to support me and our two sons,” said Lavanya, Nagaraju’s wife. PTI.

The story of Adicherla Sai Kumar (25) who committed suicide in April this year is similar as he was unable to repay the money he had borrowed.

“My brother was working in a handloom in Sircilla. He had no work for some time due to the closure of handlooms in the area. He borrowed money and failed to repay it,” said Mahender, brother of the deceased.

Sircilla, located in Karimnagar, Telangana, is now home to around 10,000 powerlooms, down from 27,000 earlier. According to Musha Ramesh, president of the CITU powerloom workers’ union, between 9,000 and 10,000 families depend on them for their livelihood.

Under the previous government, workers were ordered to make saris and school uniforms that were once distributed free to the poor. But the handloom workers are now out of work, he said.

They resort to debt to meet their expenses and face distress when they are unable to repay their loans, Ramesh said.

According to him, 10 weavers took the extreme step in Sircilla district during this year.

Kudikyala Nagaraju’s ‘suicide’ also led to a war of words between BRS president KT Rama Rao, who represents Sircilla in the state assembly, and Telangana textiles minister Tummala Nageswara Rao.

In an open letter to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Rama Rao accused the government of being responsible for the alleged suicides of weavers due to lack of work.

The deaths of weavers are not simple suicides but “deaths caused by the government”, he accused.

He also said that about ten weavers have committed suicide in recent times due to lack of work and income.

The BRS government ensured the livelihood of the weavers by placing orders to make school uniforms as well as saris which were gifted to the poor on the occasion of festivals, he said.

Rama Rao alleged that the failure of the Congress government to sustain welfare schemes and work orders launched by the previous administration led to the weavers losing their livelihood and facing severe financial difficulties.

He demanded an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh each from the parents of the deceased weavers.

Rama Rao urged the government to immediately resume and implement the welfare and support schemes implemented under the previous BRS regime, power loom subsidies and school uniform orders to boost employment of weavers.

State Minister Nageswara Rao hit back at Rama Rao, alleging that the previous BRS government had thrown weavers into crisis by not paying them for orders placed by it.

The Congress government is clearing the pending dues of the BRS scheme and taking planned steps to improve the living standards of the weavers, he said in a statement.

The government is also placing orders with weavers to ensure them work, he added.

Steps should be taken to investigate the suicides of six weavers who have committed suicide since January this year and pay them ex gratia compensation, the minister said.

Highlighting the steps taken by his government, Rao said the government had decided to utilise the Rs 400 crore budget for modernisation of handlooms and powerlooms.

The government, since it assumed office in December last year, has so far released Rs 53 crore to purchase clothes from core members of the handloom cooperative society, he said.

He has also released Rs 33.23 crore as 10 per cent yarn subsidy to weavers since coming to power, the minister said.

A large number of weaver ‘suicides’ have also been reported in Sircilla in the past.