The Karnataka government, in its recently announced state Budget, had allocated Rs 300 crore for building and developing textile parks across the state. As part of this plan, the government has identified a 100-acre plot at Thandavapura Industrial Area to set up a textile park.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Special Handloom Expo Samskruthi-2016 at the JSS Urban Haat, R Raju, department of handlooms and textiles commissioner, said, “For the development of textile parks across the state, 2,600 acres of land has been identified. In Mysuru and Chamarajanagar, where Textile Parks are also proposed, we have identified land. At the recent Invest Karnataka meet, investors have come forward to invest over Rs 1,000 crore.”
At the function, which was organized by the Ministry of Textiles, GoI, and the Karnataka State Cooperative Hand Weavers’ Mahamandali, he said that for the benefit of the weavers, the government had introduced textile policy from 2013-2018, including a Rs 10,000-crore investment for a five-year period that is expected to generate employment to 5 lakh people. Currently, around 80,000 handlooms and 1.5 lakh power looms are active across the state, and the department has managed to train over 26,000 people in the industry.
The expo, which will go on till April 7, will see participation of around 140 people, including renowned national and international artistes, displaying their products, which included summerware and cloth materials from different states. The event will be open to public from 10 am to 9.30 pm.
