All Dakshina Kannada tailors may not benefit from Covid-19 relief package, rues Tailors' Association

The Karnataka government's relief package announced for tailors may fail to benefit many tailors eking a living by stitching clothes at their homes in the Dakshina Kannada district.

When tailors engaged in tailoring work at home meet officials for some kind of certification to apply for the relief package, the officials are demanding licence, Karnataka State Tailors' Association president K S Anand told media persons at the Tailor Bhavan in Gorigudde.

Anand sought to know whether a licence was mandatory for those engaged in tailoring at home. "The government had announced Rs 2,000 relief for tailors. Tailors had not opened their shops for many weeks due to lockdown and are in distress. If the confusion over license is not solved, the poor tailors will not get the package announced by the government," he said.

By insisting on BPL ration cards, the government is practicing discrimination. The relief package should be made available for all those who are into tailoring work. The officials should not seek licence details and should sign the certification application on producing the identity card issued by the Association, he said.

"Many tailors have smart cards under the Ambedkar Karmika Sahaya Hasta. A few of them who had submitted applications in 2018 are yet to get smart cards," he recollected.