After a spate of suicides, the New Year has finally brought some hope for traditional and powerloom weavers in Andhra Pradesh. The state Government has arranged to provide loans to the weavers in distress which will help them clear dues of private moneylenders who were charging high interest rates, trapping them in a vicious debt circle. The loans will also infuse money into the beleaguered industry that is in transition from traditional handloom to powerloom.

Sircilla — once famous for its weaving industry, and more recently, for suicides by 40 weavers — is the first to receive loans under the Government’s bailout package.

The state Government has adopted a two-pronged strategy: one, through the Industries Department to modernise the handloom and powerloom sector, providing power subsidy and new marketing opportunities. Second, a Total Financial Inclusion package through the Mission to Eradicate Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) to provide financial help to the beleaguered industry.

“We have disbursed Rs 35 crore in soft loans with very low interest rates to weavers through 650 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) as part of the bailout package. The Government tied up with six banks to give loans to the SHGs,” says M Jagadishwar, director of MEPMA. “Most families are heavily into debts as they borrowed money from private lenders at rates ranging from 36 to 60 per cent. The total financial inclusion package will provide families money not only to repay the debts but address immediate social needs like marriages, health and education in the family as well as income-generating needs like opening of a small shop.”