Actor and founder of Jana Sena Party Pawan Kalyan has agreed to support the cause of handloom weavers from Mangalagiri, Dharmavaram and other places in Andhra Pradesh.
A group of about two dozen representatives of weavers’ groups called on him on Tuesday evening and when they explained their problems, he agreed to pitch in and also promised that he would attend a ‘Cheneta Satyagraha’ that they are planning to conduct in Mangalagiri on February 20.
Among their demands are the establishment of a separate corporation with a budgetary allocation of Rs. 1,000 crore, marketing support for their products, education facilities for their children and access to healthcare. They also wanted a pension of Rs. 1,000 per month per loom.
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A few days ago, a few weavers had met Mr. Pawan Kalyan and said they would come to him again in a delegation and he gave them an appointment for Tuesday. When they met him and explained their problems, he said he fully understood how they led their lives and said he would do everything he could to highlight their needs and try to improve their lot.
Interestingly, on coming to know that they had approached Mr. Pawan Kalyan a few days ago, AP’s Minister for Handloom, Ravela Kishore Babu invited them over on Monday and held discussions with them. He promised to consider their demands and if necessary, escalate the matter to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu too.