Weaver suicides continue in Telangana as govt remains silent-Telangana Today

Another weaver ends his life, Mudigonda Naresh, 53, was found hanging at his Thangallapalli residence in Sircilla on Tuesday morning, marking the third such death in a month.

Rajanna-Sircilla: The spate of weavers committing suicide in the state continues, with another weaver found hanging in Thangallapalli of Sircilla on Tuesday. Shockingly, the state government continues to remain silent on weaver suicides, even though Tuesday’s incident is the third such death this month, with the total number of weavers committing suicide since January reaching at least 12.

Mudigonda Naresh, 53, was found hanging at his residence in Indiramma Colony, not far from Sircilla Textile Park in Thangallapalli, on Tuesday morning. Naresh reportedly resorted to the extreme measure due to financial difficulties, as he had been out of work for six months. He is survived by his wife and aging parents, his mother suffering from serious health problems.

It is not only the lack of work that despairs the weavers of Sircilla. Apart from the state government abandoning several of the previous BRS government’s initiatives that had supported the weaving sector, another fatal blow to the sector was the current Congress government’s decision on May 20 to imposing restrictions on the 50 percent subsidy to power looms, which had been in place for over a decade. In Category IV, each power unit was charged Rs.4. Out of this, the weaver had to pay only 2 rupees and the remaining amount was paid by the government. According to the government order issued in 2001, the subsidy was applicable only for 10 power looms per unit (each unit includes 60-70 looms) (up to 10 HP). However, this restriction of 10 power looms was not implemented by the previous government following suicides among the Sircilla weaving community.

The Congress government, however, in its order dated May 20, asked the officials to implement the 10 HP limit rule without fail, following which the officials of the Cooperative Electric Supply Society (CESS) are now collecting bills of full electricity of Rs.7.80 per unit from weaving units which have more than 10 looms.

Owner of a weaving unit, Nalla Pradeep said the survival of Sircilla’s textile industry was possible only with power subsidy. It was not possible to weave fabric on looms while paying 100% of your electricity bills. The rates of all workers dependent on the weaving industry were increased after the sector started receiving orders for Bathukamma sarees from the previous government. With Congress ending the order and strictly enforcing restrictions on electricity subsidies, the sector was plunged into even greater despair, he said.

Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies Association (MACS) general secretary Polu Shankar said weavers were literally forced to end their lives due to lack of work. Master weavers did not use looms due to lack of government orders such as Bathukamma sarees and others. The blow from restricted subsidies was also a reason why master weavers did not use all the looms. Although a few looms were functioning, not all weavers found work. Besides, debts related to healthcare and other expenses are forcing weavers to think about extreme measures, Shankar said.

If the government was sincerely considering stopping suicides, it should immediately restore power subsidies and start passing all government orders that were once given to weavers, he added.