Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president and Minister K.T. Rama Rao accused the Centre of not having any policy for handloom sector. He said that the Centre was cancelling the boards that would benefit weavers and instead imposed 5% GST on handloom sector.
“Handlooms sector in India is next to farming sector which would offer employment for lakhs of people. The cotton crop is being grown in large chunk of land across the nation. We can leap forward if the Centre offers some encouragement. Instead, the Centre has been imposing restrictions and making the weavers’ sector worst hit,” said Mr. Rama Rao.
The TRS working president has been addressing a gathering after admitting former Rajya Sabha member and BJP leader Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar into the party along with others.
“China has been producing 34% of the fabric in the world. Countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are better placed than India in handloom sector. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and myself several times wrote letters to the Centre asking for encouraging handloom and power-loom sectors in the state. I had met every effort before the budget seeking financial assistance but of no use. They have not offered any assistance to Kakatiya Mega Textile Park at Warangal stating that there was no policy to extend assistance for such big size parks,” said Mr. Rama Rao and recalled how the Centre had cancelled eight schemes in the last eight years.
Informing that the government had recently introduced Netannaku Bima on the lines of Rytu Bima covering about 80,000 weavers in handloom and power loom sector, the TRS working president said that Mr. Anand Bhaskar came forward to work along with TRS across the nation.
Minister E. Dayakar Rao, MLC L. Ramana and others were present.