E-Paper
NHRC comes to weavers? rescue
TAKING NOTICE of about 700 weaver families who are on the verge of starvation, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Commissioner, Handloom Development under Ministry of Textiles to provide all assistance to the weavers of Badharaganj village in Ramkola development block of Kushinagar district.
TAKING NOTICE of about 700 weaver families who are on the verge of starvation, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Commissioner, Handloom Development under Ministry of Textiles to provide all assistance to the weavers of Badharaganj village in Ramkola development block of Kushinagar district.
According to sources, the weavers are on the verge of starvation due to closure of various handlooms workshops in the village. These weavers are facing hardships in eking out a living but the district administration remained apathetic towards the pathetic condition of the weavers.
Sources said that a social activist Sanjay Srivastav associated with Bhojan Abhiyan in the district prepared a report regarding the condition of the weavers and Comrade Lenin sent the report to the NHRC. A copy of the report was also dispatched to the Chief Justice of Supreme Court drawing his attention to the miserable condition of the weavers.
Lenin said that on the direction of the SC, the NHRC had constituted a two-member probe committee under the chairmanship of commissioner-level officials.
NC Saxena and Harsh Mandar were the members of the committee who prepared a detailed report regarding the plight of the weavers’ families and sent its report to the NHRC in which the committee justified the report of Sanjay Srivastav.
In the report, the committee said that 700 families of weavers were on the verge of starvation as the handloom industry in the village was collapsing. They said in every house there were 8 to 10 handlooms along with 2 to 4 spinning wheels. The weaving of towels, shawls and dhotis was the main profession of the weavers in the village. Around 1,500 people of other communities were also dependent on the handloom industry for their livelihood.
According to the report, till 1987 these families were self-reliant and their economic condition was quite satisfactory but in 1998 a fire broke out in the village, which caused irreparable damage to the handloom workshops. The probe committee further stated that the change in textile policies further compounded the problems of the weavers and they were left to the mercy of God. Though around hundred members of these weavers’ families were pulling rickshaws or working as labourers, most other families were on the verge of starvation.
The committee has suggested to provide Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards to such families and to provide Rs 50,000 aid per family to help them re-establish their industry.
