Rehabilitation package for flood-hit weavers soon

Textiles and Jute Minister Shajahan Siraj on Monday said the package includes a moratorium on loan repayments, waiving of interests, suspension of the execution or filing of certificate cases against loan defaulting weavers and issuing of VGF cards among the affected families.

"Whatever we shall announce after two-three days is not final. I shall again visit the affected areas next week," Siraj said adding: "part of the package have already been implemented."

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He said, government is aware that handloom, the most vulnerable sub-sector of textiles sector, supports 15 lakh families who are directly or indirectly involved with it.

The total amount of unrecovered loans lying with the weavers is around Tk 50 crore since 1982-83 and all the weavers associations either affiliated with the government or the opposition parties have demanded to waive the loans as well as the interests.

The consecutive floods of 1987, 1988, 1991, 1998 and the current one have seriously affected the weavers.