TRS, oppn spar over distribution of sarees for 'Bathukamma'

The ruling TRS is engaged in a war of words with opposition Congress, TDP and BJP in Telangana over the state government's scheme of free distribution of sarees to women for the upcoming 'Bathukamma' festival.
The government had yesterday began the saree distribution programme all over the state. It plans to distribute about 1.04 crore sarees by the end of this week.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had earlier said that on the occasion of 'Bathukamma' festival, all poor women above the age of 18 years will get sarees as a gift, irrespective of caste, community or religion.
The scheme was received well in many places, but it ran into controversy when women at a few places allegedly burnt the sarees in public citing poor quality.

The main opposition Congress alleged that the state government insulted poor women by giving them sarees of substandard quality.
Telangana Congress president N Uttamkumar Reddy yesterday accused the leaders of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) of hurting the self-respect of poor women by criticising those who refused to accept the sarees.

The Telugu Desam Party's state working president, A Revanth Reddy, alleged irregularities in the saree distribution exercise.
The state BJP spokesperson, Kolli Madhavi, alleged in a statement that the TRS government wasted public money by supplying sarees of poor quality.
Women had to stand in queues for hours for getting a saree worth Rs 50, she further alleged.

Taking strong exception to the criticism, state Information and Technology minister K T Rama Rao last night said that the opposition parties were indulging in cheap politics by manufacturing protest against the government.
He alleged the Congress leaders were behind the incident of burning sarees in Jagityal district.
Earlier, a video purportedly showing a group of women fighting near a counter distributing free sarees at Saidabad here went viral.
The video, aired by some local news channels, shows a few women exchanging blows and pulling each other by hair, while others are seen shoving and attacking each other with footwear. The women police personnel are then seen separating the fighting women.

The exact reason behind the scuffle was not clear, though reports said an argument broke out between the group of women over the queue for sarees.
Police said the fighting women were separated and the saree distribution programme proceeded after the incident.
The collectors of 31 districts in the state were overseeing the saree distribution programme, Textiles Commissioner Shailaja Rama Iyer told reporters here yesterday.
She said power-loom weavers at Sircilla in the state have woven over 50 lakh sarees measuring up to 3.75 crore metres, while the remaining sarees have been procured from Surat after following an open and competitive tender process.

'Bathukamma' begins in the state tomorrow.
During the festival, women dress up in traditional sarees and tastefully arrange flowers. Every year, the festival is celebrated for nine days from 'Bhadrapada Amavasya' till 'Durgashtami'.