Union Minister Suresh Gopi offered Rs 32 lakh on August 22 to clear four to five months of pending wages owed to Kudumbashree women workers deployed under the Tourism Department in Alappuzha. The move was intended to ensure that the workers could celebrate Onam with their families without financial hardship.
Gopi said the amount would be provided as an advance and refunded once the government released the pending funds. However, officials later confirmed that the government had sanctioned the dues and initiated the process to clear the payments.
Kudumbashree is a major poverty-reduction and women’s empowerment programme run by the Kerala Government. Launched in 1997, it brings millions of women into local self-help groups aimed at promoting financial independence, small businesses and community development.
The Kudumbashree workers deployed under the Tourism Department in Alappuzha had reportedly gone without wages for four to five months. The total pending amount was around Rs 32 lakh.
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Gopi offered to transfer the amount directly from his personal account as an advance or loan so that the workers’ families would not face further hardship during the Onam festival. Subsequently, district authorities and the administrative machinery intervened, and the government sanctioned and processed the pending payments.
The workers had reportedly been struggling to meet their families’ basic needs during the period without wages. According to the account, their Lok Sabha member, Congress leader and organisational general secretary K.C. Venugopal, did not intervene in the matter. The workers later raised their grievance with Gopi, the Lok Sabha member from Thrissur, during his visit to Alappuzha.
Gopi, instead of making a public spectacle of the issue, contacted officials and asked how much was required to clear the workers’ pending wages. When he was told that the amount was Rs 32 lakh, he offered to arrange the money immediately and have it reimbursed once the government completed the formalities.
He also urged officials to ensure that the women could celebrate Onam with their families.
The gesture has been presented as an example of political leadership responding directly to a public grievance, with Gopi prioritising immediate assistance to the workers over political considerations.
