Destitute of livelihood and debt, weavers resort to 'suicide' in Telangana's textile hub

While it is claimed that 10 weavers have committed suicide so far this year, the government has put the number at six, even as the BRS attacked the ruling Congress over the issue.

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

“My husband borrowed some amount and did not repay the lenders. He did not have the means to support me and our two sons,” Nagaraju’s wife Lavanya told 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 worked in a power weaving factory in Sircilla. He had no work for some time due to the closure of power weaving mills in the area. He borrowed money and could not repay it,” said Mahender, the deceased’s brother.

Sircilla, located in Karimnagar in Telangana state, is now home to around 10,000 powerlooms, down from 27,000 in the past. Around 9,000 to 10,000 families depend on them for their livelihood, said Musha Ramesh, president of the CITU Powerloom Workers Union.

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 find themselves in trouble when they are unable to repay their loans, Ramesh said.

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

Kudikyala Nagaraju’s ‘suicide’ also led to a war of words between BRS working 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 for making school uniforms and also saris which were donated 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 sum 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 by the previous BRS regime, power loom subsidies and school uniform orders to boost employment weavers.

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

The Congress government clears the outstanding dues of BRS scheme and takes steps to improve the standard of living of weavers, it said in a statement.

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

Steps should be taken to investigate the suicides of six weavers who ended their lives 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 use the budget of Rs 400 crore for modernization of hand and power looms.

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 from Sircilla in the past. PTI SJR CORR GDK SS

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