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Title: Need to protect the interest of handloom industry in Andhra Pradesh â Laid.
PROF. UMMAREDDY VENKATESWARLU (TENALI) : The handloom industry and the plight of the handloom workers in Andhra Pradesh in general and in my constituency, Tenali in particular is in a deplorable stage. Cloth produced in places like Mangalagiri, Bhattiprolu, Cherukupali, Repalle, Ghantasala etc. in my constituency have piled up unsold in huge quantities worth more than Rs.20.00 crores. The matter was raised earlier on several occasions in Parliament to arrange for purchase of the stocks and to save the industry.
Added to this, in the recent past an additional excise duty of 9.2% was levied on yankey yarn.
Under the circumstances, while arranging for immediate purchase of the total handloom stocks in the State, I urge upon the Government to constitute a high-level Committee to go into the details of the plight of the Handloom Industry and workers in the country and to suggest suitable measures for bailing them out of the crisis as otherwise the whole handloom sector itself is likely to perish and vanish gradually in course of time.