KARIMNAGAR/ JAGTIAL/ PEDDAPALLI: Sarees distribution for women to celebrate Bathukamma festival turned into chaos at many places in the erstwhile Karimnagar district on Monday. At several places, women rejected the sarees alleging poor quality.
At Chelgal village in Jagtial district, after receiving the sarees, women set them on fire. One of the women alleged that she left her daily wage work to stand in queue expecting a lot about the saree, but after seeing it she is shocked at the poor quality and cheap rate. At Manchineella Bavi area in Jagtial town women protested holding sarees. At Yusufnagar in Korutla women returned the sarees to the authorities.
In Peddapalli district, women in Nandimedaram and Narsimulapalli rejected the sarees and threw them roadside. In Ramagundam town women questioned whether MP Kavitha will accept to wear such sarees.
Meanwhile, in Karimnagar town, MCK Commissioner K Shasanka announced that the distribution of sarees postponed to September 21 and 22, due to not receiving stocks from Hyderabad. TPCC president N Uttam Kumar who was in Indiramma Raithubata launching programme in Karimnagar, said the government is insulting women with distributing poor quality and lower price sarees, costing just Rs 70 only.
Finance Minister Etela Rajender, who distributed sarees in Huzurabad, said that the state government was distributing about 2.10 lakh sarees for Bathukamma in the district.
5 Congress leaders held for burning sarees
Five Congress leaders were arrested by Jagtial rural police on Monday in connection with burning a pile of Bathukamma sarees. Police arrested Junnu Rajender, Baddela Mallaiah, Shafiuddin, Chittapelli Sampath and Mosali Laxmi.The five people allegedly snatched the sarees from a distributor and set them on fire. They were later released on surety.
‘Stop calling Kavitha TS Bathukamma’
BJP national executive member and former MLA Yendala Laxminarayana demanded that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and TRS cadre stop the efforts of portraying Nizamabad MP K Kavitha as ‘Telangana Bathukamma’ and the efforts are insulting the women of Telangana. He said that if Kavitha really respected women, she should provide women representation in state cabinet.
Nizamabad
Government reviving Telangana culture: Kavitha
The saree distribution programme started in Nizamabad and Kamareddy districts with full festival spirit.Nizamabad MP Kavitha said, “The government is reviving and protecting Telangana culture by celebrating Bonalu and Bathukamma.” TRS leaderSrinivas Reddy said Kavitha has become a replica of Telangana Bathukamma.
Adilabad
Upset over poor quality, women reject sarees
Women of Badkamoula colony in Adilabad town burnt the sarees distributed by the government on Monday. They alleged that the sarees were not handloom sarees and were of poor quality. They said they spent the whole day running to municipal ward councillors’ house and ration shop with photocopies of Aadhaar, ration card etc and finally got a saree worth less than `100.
Khammam
‘We wasted our day for a saree worth Rs 15
Women in Sattupalli, Vemsoor, Tallada, Kallur and Penuballi mandals expressed anger over distribution of silk sarees instead of sarees made by powerlooms. Women in Sattupalli town threw the sarees on the road. “We wasted our whole day for a saree worth `150. If we had gone to work, we could have at least earned `300”, they said.
Hyderabad
98,800 Bathukamma sarees distributed in city
On the first day of distribution of Bathukamma sarees, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in coordination with public representatives distributed around 98,800 Bathukamma sarees among women. The state government started this scheme this year in which free sarees are distributed for the upcoming Bathukamma festival. Any woman above 18 years with a white ration card is eligible to receive the saree. The GHMC proposes to distribute around 7,60,839 sarees.