Govt plans to set up exclusive bank for weavers: Minister

Madanapalle: Minister for Handlooms and Textiles G Prasad Kumar said that the State government was planning to set up an exclusive bank for the development of weavers in the State. He said the proposal was in the pipeline and hoped that it would become a reality soon. The minister also said that the government was keen on sanctioning a loan of Rs. 30,000 to every weaver without taking any surety and the chief minister was now consulting with the bankers to make the proposal a success. On a private visit, Prasad Kumar on Thursday came to Madanapalle in Chittoor district and spoke to the media for few minutes. The minister said he was also trying to bring a special recognisation status to the saris made at Madanapalle on a par with Dharmavaram silk saris. The State government is committed to extend all support to the weavers. As part of it, the government has also come out with a special package to the tune of Rs. 270 crore. "I have also asked Union Minister for Textiles, Panabaka Lakshmi to release additional funds to the State for the welfare of weaver community," he said. Since there are many complaints from weavers about cheating of middlemen, the government is planning to digitalize all transactions like issue of bank loans, subsidies and other benefits to check the irregularities and involvement of middlemen, Prasad Kumar said. To save the weavers from financial problems, the State government has sanctioned about Rs. 80 crores to Rajiv Vidya Mission to supply uniforms to all school students, which will be useful for weavers in marketing their products through APCO, he said. The Union government promised to release Rs. 450 crores to the State and Rs. 105 crores were also sanctioned as the first installment, he replied to a query. When asked about wearing of traditional cotton dresses by government employees once in a week in addition to coming with traditional dress wear, the minister replied that the issue would be discussed with the chief minister.