Yogi govt should stop harassment of weavers: Priyanka

Lucknow, Oct 29: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the issues of weavers and demanded the protection of their interests.

In a tweet on Thursday, Ms Vadra said, "Not giving electricity at flat rates to the weavers who have made Banaras famous in the world and harassing them for charging electricity bills at new rates is extremely wrong. The BJP government should protect the weavers by implementing payments of electricity at the flat rate and the arrears at the old rate.

She also attached the letter with her tweet.

In the letter, the Congress leader has said, "The weavers of Banaras have been frustrated and upset since some time. The families of the weavers of Banarasi sarees, which are famous in the world, are struggling to make ends meet. Their whole business has been destroyed owing to the coronavirus epidemic and the government policies. Their handicrafts have illuminated the name of Uttar Pradesh from centuries. The government should help them in this difficult time."

She said, "The UPA government had implemented a plan to provide electricity to weavers at flat rates in 2006 but by ending this scheme, your government is doing injustice to the weavers. The weavers who went on strike against the arbitrary power rates were called by the government for a talk and were assured that their demands would be accepted but there was no attempt to solve the problems."

Mr Vadra demanded that the scheme to provide power to the weavers at a flat rate should be restored. The harassment of weavers in the name of fake dues should be stopped. The power connections of the weavers should not be cut and the ones that have been cut should be restored immediately.