UP weavers demand direct benefit of Rs 3,200-cr package

Meet Pranab Mukherjee, Anand Sharma with set of demands.

Uttar Pradesh weavers have reiterated their demand for getting direct benefit of the Rs 3,200-crore central package announced by the Centre in the 2010-11 union budget.

In the weavers’ loan waiver provision, the benefit of the package is to percolate to the weavers through societies.

However, the weavers had been pressing for availing of direct benefit without any middle agency.

To press for their demands, a delegation of weavers met union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and commerce and textiles minister Anand Sharma in New Delhi yesterday. Senior bureaucrats of the concerned departments were also present in the meeting.

UP has a large base of weavers and yarn-based industry, scattered mainly in the eastern parts of the state. Most of the weavers are from economically weaker sections, while majority belongs to the minority community.

Meanwhile, the weavers also demanded the provision of weavers’ credit card and waiver of 9.5 per cent excise duty on yarn or additional 10 per cent subsidy to them.

Besides, they want special government depots to be set up for selling yarn at cheaper rates to weavers. They have suggested the central government to ban the export of yarn and cotton to keep their domestic prices under check and insulate weavers from high prices.

The meeting with the union ministers was facilitated by UP Congress Committee (UPCC) leaders. Recently, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had visited Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Mau, Azamgarh and Ambedkar Nagar districts in eastern UP and met weavers.