HANDLOOM WEAVERS ON THE VERGE OF STARVATION, PROTEST IN FRONT OF NHDC NOIDA N SEND MEMO TO SMRITI IRANI, MINISTER, TEXTILES, GOI

The handloom weavers of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in particular are badly suffering for want of yarn for the last more than eight months as the National Handloom Development Corporation has arbitrarily stopped the supply of yarns to the handloom weavers which was the only source of income for the survival and sustainability of their poor and economically deprived underprivileged families.

Hundreds of handloom weavers, men and women from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand today protested in front of the headquarter of National Handloom Development Corporation in Noida and raised vociferous slogans against the handloom authorities for blocking the supply of uarn for the last five months.

Raising slogans under scorching sun hundreds of slogan shouting demonstraters, men and women were carrying play cards in their hands mentioning slogans: Garibon ka haq maar rahi hai sarkar ( the govt is killing the rights of the poor), hame hamara haq do ( give us our rights) and down with NHDC etc.

The protest demonstration was organised by Uttarar Pradesh Bunkar Sangharsh Union. The union also presented a memorandum addressed to the union textiles minister Smriti Irani demanding immediate release of yarns to the affected weavers of the state whose families are in doldrums and in the state of jeopardy due to their respective handloom business n employment having been stopped for the last five months.

It may be recalled that the National Handloom Development Corporation, Noida have completely stopped the supply of yarns to the weavers of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand for the last five months.

According to the Uttar Pradesh Bunkar Union, the Corporation has arbitrarily stopped the supply of yarns since last first of April despite the very fact that the yarns’ supply of the union government is already
existing which has been unambiguously substantiated by the textile department’s regional manager and the enforcement director( commercial).

The union is also of the view that the Handloom Department had cleared all the bills of the weavers by 31st March but this release of payment has not reached the weaving yarn mills till date. And it’s because of this lapse that the mills are not supplying the requisite quota of yarns to the weavers as a result hundreds of thousands of them have become unemployeed and on the verge of starvation.

Prominent handloom leaders who participated in this massive protest demonstration were Mahammed Farooq Ansari, from Etaava, President of the union, Zuber Ansari from Sitapur, Mohammed Anwar from Baanda, Hazi Abdul Ansari and Mohammed Llaik etc.

According to the president of Uttar Pradesh Harkargha Bunkar Association Mohammed Farouq Ansari the Hathkargha Bunkar Union has demanded immediate release of the last five months quota of the yarn and subsequent release of the balance payments to the handlooms n mills so that they are able to release the yarn at the earliest and hundreds of thousands of weavers of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are able to survive and start earning their livelihoods againwho are currently on the verge of starvation.