With many powerloom weavers committing suicide under the burden of mounting debt and hefty electricity bills in the textile town of Sircilla, Karimnagar district administration organised a massive awareness rally on Thursday to discourage the distressed weavers to take such extreme steps, by instilling confidence among them. .
Collector M. Veerabrahmaiah flagged off the ‘Mano Chaitanya’ rally and many dignitaries including Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar, KDCCB Chairman K. Ravinder Rao, Sircilla RDO Srinivas and others participated in the programme. Carrying placards, they appealed the weavers not to commit suicide, leaving their family members in dire straights, as the rally passed through all important streets in the town.
Speaking on the occasion, MP Ponnam Prabhakar said that he was striving for the upgrade of existing powerlooms into the modern ones so that they would produce value-added fabric to compete in global markets. He also said that he had brought the powerloom weavers’ issue to the notice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and AICC President Sonia Gandhi. He appealed to the weavers to face the situation with courage and not to take extreme steps.
Overwhelming response
On the occasion, the district administration also organised a mega medical camp where in as many as 45 doctors with various specialties, along with 150 paramedical staff, took part.
Weavers’ family members in huge numbers were examined by the doctors and medicines worth Rs. 5 lakh were distributed to the patients.
Serpentine queues were seen at the medical camp where the authorities had all arrangements in place for the weavers.
