THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday said the state government was betraying the handloom weavers by not paying their wages for stitching uniforms for government schools.
In a statement, Chennithala said the government had entrusted the weaving community to stitch 20 lakh metre cloth for uniforms alone. However, the weavers did not get any remuneration for their work for the past six months. “The weavers had changed the shape of the loom to weave clothes for uniform. Now they can not stitch dhothi and saree in the same loom. This left the weavers in a quandary,” the statement said.
“As many as 2 lakh weavers are reeling in crisis. If the government do not pay money on time, their situation will turn worse during Onam. How can the government give more orders to the weavers without clearing their dues?” Chennithala said in the statement.
The government has distributed free handloom school uniforms to students of selected government schools from May 2.The uniforms, made from around 23 lakh metres of cloth, were distributed to around 4.5 lakh students from Classes I to VII enrolled in 3,701 schools in the state.