Telangana bamboo sellers struggling livelihood

Burdened with transport cost and Goods and services Tax (GST), bamboo sellers in Hyderabad are struggling to sustain their livelihood.

High cost of raw materials, increased transportation tax with little profit in return has dented the business prospects of the bamboo artisans, therefore the bamboo sellers have requested the government to allow them to take bamboos from the state to make make profits.

The bamboo sellers told ANI that they get stock of bamboo from Assam as Telangana government does not allow cutting of bamboos.

"Before the bifurcation, it would be easy to get the stock from Andhra Pradesh. Now, we have to pay transportation tax and GST and our profit margin has reduced. I request government to allow us to take bamboos from our state so we can make profits. Currently, there is no help from government," Bharghav, a bamboo seller said.

The roll out of the nationwide Goods and services tax (GST) along with no feasible alternative available to transport the raw materials has also added to the woes of the bamboo workers.

It is notable that Centre allocated Rs 1,290 crore in the Union Budget 2018, to restructure the National Bamboo mission.

The move has been welcomed by farmers in the bamboo-rich northeast, but the bamboo sellers in Telangana are yet to accrue the benefits.