KARIMNAGAR, OCTOBER 10, 2024: Minister for Transport and BC Welfare Ponnam Prabhakar has formally launched the distribution of Katamayya Raksha kits (safety kits) to the toddy-tappers belonging to the Goud community in Karimnagar town on Thursday.
In the wake of incidents of toddy tappers losing their lives and sustaining serious injuries after falling from the toddy trees while extracting toddy, the Telangana government has come out with a scheme to distribute safety kits.
Accordingly, under the initiative by the Telangana State BC Corporation, specialised safety kits have been designed specifically for toddy tappers. These kits, developed in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad and a private company, integrate modern technologies to prevent accidents. With advanced safety features tailored to the specific needs of rope climbers, each kit includes six essential devices: ropes, clips, handles, a sling bag, and leg loops.
After prayers at Renuka Yellamma temple at Bommakal bypass road on the outskirts of Karimnagar town on Thursday, the Minister distributed the safety kits to the toddy tappers. He said that they would be distributed 10,000 safety kits in 100 assembly segments on Thursday and appealed to the tappers and association leaders to utilise the safety kits and prevent accidents.
Stating that they had already distributed 1,000 safety kits to the tappers in the Karimnagar district and imparted training on its usage, he said that they would distribute 1.85 lakh safety kits to all the toddy tappers in the district. He reiterated that the government was committed for the development of the Manair River Front in Karimnagar. Collector Pamela Satpathy, RDO Maheshwar, former MLA K Satyanarayana Goud, Gouda sangham district president Srinivas Goud, municipal corporator Ilender and others were also present. Earlier, the Collector participated in Bathukamma celerbations at the temple shrine.
