Owing to lack of an organised system in place and delayed payments of yarn subsidies, the financial situation of the handloom weavers in the State is in bad shape.

Published: 08th August 2022 09:13 AM | Last Updated: 08th August 2022 09:13 AM

By Niharika Saila | Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Owing to the lack of an organised system in place and delayed payments of yarn subsidies, the financial situation of the handloom weavers in the State is in bad shape. Speaking to The New Indian Express, K Purushotam, an ikat saree weaver from Pochampally, who has been in the profession for the past 40 years, said: “We get orders from the local shops and we customise the sarees accordingly. We get around Rs 12,000 per saree. But a lot of money goes into buying raw materials because one kg of yarn silk costs around Rs 5,000 and the dyes and other materials cost around Rs 3,000. It takes a lot of hard work to weave. So the profit we make is very nominal.”

“On five kg of yarn, the Central government gives 10 per cent subsidy and the State government gives 40 per cent subsidy. The biggest problem we are facing right now is that for the past one-and-a-half years we have not been receiving the yarn subsidy amount on time. The government is supposed to give us six bills per year but we are receiving only two bills,” he said.

“Even getting the approval for the subsidy bills is a big task as we have to run back and forth from the commissioner’s office to the banks. We have written many letters to the officials in this regard but we haven’t received any reply so far,” he laments.

C Ramesh, a handloom weaver, said: “On the National Handloom Day, we attended a meeting with the Collector and other weavers, where we were explained about the Neethanna Bheema scheme. All the Geotag weavers are eligible for the scheme.”

Courtesy: https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2022/aug/08/telangana-weavers-suffer-due-to-delay-in-payment-of-yarn-subsidies-2485200.html