Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Friday said that state government provided much-needed relief to weavers by releasing Rs 93 crores under 'Nethanna Ku Cheyutha' (Thrift) scheme.
KTR participated in the National Handloom Day virtual celebrations at Pragathi Bhavan and while interacting with the weavers on this occasion, stated that the Telangana government has been celebrating National Handloom Day for the last three years in a grand way. However, due to COVID this year the celebrations took place virtually.
He said that about 40,000 families are making a livelihood in this profession. "No other state government in this country has introduced welfare schemes exclusively for the weavers' community," he said.
He also mentioned that the officials from Odisha visited Telangana, studied the policies introduced by the state government for the weavers, and expressed happiness.
Talking about the welfare schemes for the weavers, Minister KTR said that the government provided much-needed relief to weavers by releasing Rs 93 crores to weavers accrued under 'Nethanna Ku Cheyutha' (Thrift) scheme well before the mandatory lock-in period of three years.
Considering the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the government had sanctioned the amount to the weavers immediately without waiting for three years, the press note said.
Minister stated that about 20,554 weavers have been enrolled under the Chenetha Mitra scheme. A total of Rs 792.89 lakhs has been released into the accounts of 30,984 weavers, and ancillary workers.
He mentioned about eight-block level clusters were set up at Pochampally, Aleru, Kanukula, Shayampet, Kamalapur, Armoor, Veltur, and Vemulawada with Rs 10.20 lakhs. The Minister also stated that the government will soon set up more clusters across the state.
Speaking about the "Handloom Monday" tradition, Minister KTR stated that the public representatives and government officials have been wearing handloom clothes on every Monday to increase production for the weavers.
He also presented the Konda Laxman Bapuji Awards- 2020 to the weavers on this occasion. While the Minister himself presented the awards to two weavers in Hyderabad, the remaining awards were presented to the weavers by the collectors of their respective districts.
( With inputs from ANI )