Nalgonda weavers seek fair deal in procurement

Handloom weaver societies from Nalgonda district on Tuesday made a representation to the Union government seeking fair procurement from all regions for Handloom House retail stores.

The Handloom House in Hyderabad is one of the 23 such stores across the country, and is run by the All-India Handloom Fabrics Marketing Co-operative Society, sponsored by the Union textiles ministry.

They told Rita Menon, secretary, Ministry of Textiles, who was here to inaugurate the renovated showroom, that the society had been reducing procurement from Nalgonda, Medak and Karimnagar districts for the last five years.

According to G Balaiah, convenor of a weavers cell affiliated to the Congress party, there has been no procurement so far this year from primary weaver societies in these districts, and the procurement centre too had been shifted from Hyderabad to Chirala in Prakasam district.

“Fifteen primary societies in Nalgonda district alone used to account for Rs 10 crore, but it is not even Rs 50 lakh now,” he said.

According to Bolla Shivashankar, convenor of Forum for Telangana Handloom Cooperatives Societies, the national society has 73 member societies from the state, of which 17 are from the Telangana region while 29 are from just one district of Anantapur.

The society is governed by a national-level board, which has only one representative from the state, Chanda Venkataswamy, also from Anantapur. The Nalgonda weavers believe that the state representative on the society board is instrumental in changing its procurement policies.

Balaiah alleged that Venkataswamy won the board membership based on votes of non-existent weaver societies in Tadipathri and Uravakonda in Anantapur district, some of which were registered in the names of his own family members and were never audited.

He said they had already met Union textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran in this regard, and would now seek an inquiry by the Central Vigilance Commission into the status of these societies.