Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) appealed to the Congress government to clear the pending dues of Sircilla powerloom workers, which has pushed them into financial crises.

In a letter to Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, he demanded that the government immediately clear an outstanding pending bill of Rs 35.48 crore. He also said an electricity subsidy of Rs 101.77 crore is yet to be released.

He said that previously, the powerloom workers of Sircilla enjoyed 50 percent electricity subsidy as the sector came under the cottage industry. However, recently it was reclassified as small scale industry (SSI) under Industry-3.

Due to this, he said, the workers are unable to bear the electricity burden and face a potential closure. “As per Telangana High Court orders, arrears of Rs 35.48 crore were incurred by 127 SSI units and 191 other units. I urge the state government to waive the arrears and release subsidies,” his letter read.

He also mentioned that there has been no release of the Rs 101.77 crore subsidy to the Siricilla Cooperative Electric Supply Society (CESS), which has come under financial burden.