Hyderabad: The Telangana Government has distributed over 4.79 crores of Bathukamma sarees free of cost to women above 18 registered in food security cards since 2017, with an expenditure of over Rs 1,466 crore.
As a result of the free sarees scheme, the power loom operators got a chance to get employment throughout the year. Salaries of weavers increased, and their living standards improved, an official government release said on Sunday.
The state government launched the Bathukamma sarees distribution programme in 2017, intending to ensure respectable income to weavers and offer sarees to women for the festivities.
Bathukamma is a floral festival that is celebrated across the state in which flowers are stacked up, and the word means 'festival of life' representing womanhood.
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The state government has recently launched the 'Nethanna Insurance Scheme' on the lines of 'Rythu Bhima', which is being implemented for farmers.
The government will pay the required premium for this insurance. Under the scheme, if beneficiary weavers die due to any ailment or untoward incidents during the insurance period. In that case, Rs 5 lakh will be given to their family or nominee within 10 days.
The state government is providing a 40 per cent subsidy on yarn, dyes and chemicals purchased by handloom workers, master weavers, handloom societies and Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Limited under the 'Cheneta Mitra' scheme, it said.
According to the government, the Telangana Handloom Weavers' Savings Fund, Savings and Security Scheme (TFSSS) would remain in place for an additional three years. The Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Limited (TSCO) was reportedly engaged in the State Government's distribution of fabrics as part of Dasara Gift Packs, Ramzan Gift Packs, and Christmas Gift Packs.
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(With PTI Inputs)