Even as the deaths evoked an outcry from the public and political parties, the state government said it was drawing up a long-term plan for rehabilitating the weavers. There is no demand for the cloth they produce because it is not of a good quality and it is unable to compete with the mill cloth which is of a higher quality. The problem no doubt started with the fall in the demand in market. Similarly, the sales tax on raw material is much higher in Andhra Pradesh then in the neighbouring state of Maharashtra. Many of these people are debt ridden.
Officials say they are implementing a strategy to confront the problem.
The weavers are being persuaded to change their trade and have been offered training in other fields such as apparel and garment making and tailoring. But others say that it is not that simple, arguing that global changes are to blame. This is a fall-out of the WTO agreement which has made foreign imports cheap in the country. Tomorrow it will be dairy and poultry. We will face more such crises in future.