The Telangana government's freebie sari idea seems to have backfired. The government had promised handloom saris to underprivileged women to celebrate a popular local festival, Bathukamma. It had reportedly spent Rs 2.2 billion to buy a total of 10 billion saris for the women. However, the women have accused the government of distributing low-quality saris that wouldn’t even last “longer than four days”. They showed their disappointment by returning the saris. Some even went ahead to gather in groups and burn them.
The authorities insist that the saris were of high quality. They have now offered to replace the poor-quality saris.
Opposition parties are seeking a judicial inquiry for "betraying people's trust". They are calling it a “sari scam”. They have accused the government of corruption in the amount of money spent in buying each sari as opposed to the amount promised.
"Telangana government claims these are handloom saris but they are not. They are just saying that,"- Padma told BBC Telugu
Earlier, the officials claimed that they would buy the saris from local weavers. This would also help the economy of the state and profit the weavers. But when they realized that the saris would not be ready in time, they ordered them from powerlooms, reports BBC.
“We are taking whatever they give us,” a woman named Padma told BBC Telugu. She received her sari from a centre in Hyderabad.
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"They claim these are handloom saris but they are not. They are just saying that," she added.
People are now sharing photos of women burning the saris on streets.
However, the ruling party is accusing the opposition for maligning their initiative. They believe that burning sari is not something that “Indian culture” promotes.
There are some women who are happy to get free stuff even if it is of poor quality. “It would have cost only Rs 70 to Rs 75," said Savitri. "But I am happy with it because it's free.”
Picture credit- News18
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