Without livelihood, trapped in debt: Weavers resort to ‘suicide’ in Telangana’s textile hub

The ‘recent’ suicide of a weaver in Telangana’s Sircilla has highlighted the alleged lack of work and adequate income in this 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 ending their lives in the past.

While it is claimed that 10 weavers have ended their lives so far this year, the government has pegged 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 failed to repay the lenders. He did not have the means to take care of me and our two sons,” Nagaraju’s wife Lavanya said. at 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 loom in Sircilla. He had not had a job for some time due to the closure of looms in the area. He borrowed money and was unable to pay him back,” said Mahender, brother of the deceased.

Sircilla, located in Karimnagar, Telangana, is now home to around 10,000 power looms, up from 27,000 earlier. According to Musha Ramesh, president of the CITU Powerloom Workers’ Union, between 9,000 and 10,000 families depend on it 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 debts to meet their expenses and face distress when they are unable to repay their loans, Ramesh said. According to him, 10 weavers have taken 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 claimed that around 10 weavers have ended their lives in recent times due to lack of work and income.

The BRS government ensured the livelihood of weavers by placing orders for making school uniforms and sarees which were gifted to the poor on the occasion of festivals, he said. Rama Rao claimed that the failure of the Congress government to continue the welfare schemes and work orders initiated by the previous administration had resulted in loss of livelihood of weavers and severe financial distress. He demanded a gratuity of Rs 25 lakhs from each of the relatives of the deceased weavers.

Rama Rao urged the government to immediately resume and implement the welfare and support schemes put in place by the previous BRS regime, handloom subsidies and school uniform orders to boost employment weavers. State Minister Nageswara Rao hit back at Rama Rao, saying the previous BRS government had plunged the weavers into a crisis by not paying them for the orders it had placed.

The Congress government is clearing the pending dues of the BRS scheme and taking steps to improve the living standards of the weavers, he said in a statement. The government is also placing orders with the weavers to provide them with work, he added. It will take steps to investigate the suicides of six weavers who have ended their lives since January this year and provide them with compensation, the minister said.

Highlighting the steps taken by his government, Rao said the government had decided to utilise the budget of Rs 400 crore for modernisation of handlooms and powerlooms. The government, since assuming office in December last year, has so far released Rs 53 crore for purchasing clothes for members of the primary 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.