Save The Weavers

The plights of handloom workers of Northern districts of Andhra Pradesh have suddenly garnered attention from all quarters.

It all started with Mega Star Chiranjeevi and his Praja Rajyam party visiting the villages of Karim Nagar, Sirisilla areas. Chiranjeevi made a strong political pitch by stating that the ruling congress government has done nothing to save the handloom workers. He went on to announce all kinds of sops to this industry, if his party comes to power in the next elections.

Chiranjeevi’s histrionics raked a big controversy, as the other political parties jumped into the fray to own the politically sensitive topic of the growing suicides of handloom workers. The ruling congress rebuked Chiranjeevi for his lack of understanding. The state government followed it up with some medical insurance schemes for the weavers.

However, all the attention from political parties is of no use for this cottage industry. The rulers and the citizens have become numb to the everyday occurrence of suicides of the handloom workers. The citizens and the industry think that the current system doesn’t have any conviction to repair things.

In the current scenario, individuals are doing more to help this industry, than what the government is doing.

An NRI Eppanapally Puja started a movement to Save Weavers. She hosts a website to garner support from citizens to put pressure on government to act on the plights of weavers. The website http://saveweavers.org/saveweavers.php runs a signature campaign. Her aim is to provide a permanent comprehensive solution to enable the weavers to earn their living respectfully by creating demand for their cloth and preserve and protect the great heritage of Indian weavers.

Lets wish her and the weavers, good luck!