Collector emphasises support for golden families under P4 scheme

Chirala: Bapatla district collector J Venkata Murali informed that financial assistance will be provided to Golden Families identified under the P4 scheme to lift them out of poverty during a constituency-level meeting held at the Municipal Office in Chirala on Saturday.

In the meeting focused on P4, Surya Ghar, and handloom development initiatives, Collector Murali and Chirala MLA M Malakondaiah felicitated local handloom artisans following the national award received for Kuppadam silk sarees under the ‘One District One Product’ (ODOP) initiative.

During the event, the collector distributed loans worth Rs 6.00 crores to 30 DWCRA groups under MEPMA and Rs 7.00 crores to 40 DWACRA groups under Velugu through cheques. Drawing inspiration from Dr BR Ambedkar’s journey from poverty to becoming the architect of India’s Constitution, Collector Murali emphasised the crucial role of mentors in eradicating poverty. He revealed that under Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s P4 policy, he has adopted 10 destitute families from Cherukupalli mandal.

The collector said that in the Chirala constituency, 8,405 Golden Families have been identified, with 402 mentors already assigned to 4,400 families. He appealed for mentors to come forward for the remaining 4,000 families, promising government recognition and respect for their service. For handloom development, the collector emphasised the need to provide liberal loans to weavers and criticised the approval of only 327 units out of 1695 solar power applications.

He said plans to establish ODOP stalls at Bapatla, Chirala, Vadarevu, and Suryalanka Beach to promote Kuppadam sarees, incorporating modern technology like scanners to share the history of these traditional garments. The collector also announced that the government has agreed to develop the 26-acre Handloom Park in Devangapuri, Chirala mandal, into a Handloom MSME hub to boost the sector further.

Chirala RDO Chandrsekhar, Municipal Chairman M Sambasiva Rao, DRDA PD Srinivasa Rao, CPO Shalom Raju, Handlooms AD Raghunanda, and officials from various departments also participated in the programme.