Hyderabad: National Handloom Weavers Joint Action Committee is organising 'Dharma Porata Deeksha' in Himayathnagar

Protest will press several demands, including allocation of Rs 500 crore to the handloom sector and Rs 1,000 crore to the textiles department and spending the entire amount this fiscal

Himayathnagar: The National Handloom Weavers' Joint Action Committee (JAC) is organising 'Dharma Porata Deeksha' on Wednesday to press several demands, including allocation of Rs 500 crore to the handloom sector and Rs.1,000 crore to the textiles department and spending the entire amount.

After releasing a poster on the deeksha, committee chairman Dasu Nagesh listed the demands as separation of the handlooms and textiles departments, immediately launch the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, 50 per cent hike in wages of handloom weavers, allotment of houses, work sheds and free health cards to weavers' families, extension of Rs.36,000 investment assistance in Telangana, extension of Rs.5 lakh insurance cover to each weaver, sanction of Rs.10 lakh ex-gratia to families of dead weavers, scrapping of SGST on wool and colours used by weavers.

He demanded immediate steps by the government to drop fake handloom trade in shopping malls and creation of special markets for weavers, setting up of weaver welfare fund for providing education, health and welfare activities for children, imposition of cess on handloom sales and holding of elections to the handloom cooperative societies by the handloom and textiles department.

The other committee leaders present at the media conference were convener Pasikanti Lakshminarsayya, co-convener Ankam Murali, women convener Bonam Urmila, Congress Party secretary Kotla Srinivas, National BC Welfare Association vice-president Gujju Krishna, OU JAC chairman Raju, representatives Harish Goud, Chikati Harish.