Former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP P. Chidambaram inaugurated a renovated Khadi industrial complex here on Saturday.
Minister for Handlooms R. Gandhi; Minister for Rural Development KR. Periyakaruppan; Sivaganga MP Karthi Chidambaram; Principal Secretary (Handlooms) Apurva; and Sivaganga Collector P. Madhusudhan Reddy were present.
The khadi complex that was opened in 1988 had gone sick in the last 10 years and it was renovated by the State government at a cost of ₹45.80 lakh.
The industrial complex has several units manufacturing soap oil, bathing soap, footwear, modern loom, carpentry and blacksmith units among various units. It gives employment to 105 persons, including 85 women, and indirect jobs to 150 persons.
Mr. Chidambaram said that heavy units that come up at hundreds of crores of rupees can give jobs only to limited persons. Though they benefit the nation, the poor are not benefited by them.
The poor will be benefited only by small scale units. That is why when Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme and crop insurance schemes were introduced, they were first brought to Sivaganga district, Mr. Chidambaram said.
Mr. Gandhi unveiled a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and paid floral tributes on the 153rd birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation.
Mr. Periyakaruppan inaugurated the khadi sale on the occasion.
A target of ₹58.80 crore has been fixed for sale of Khadi products in the district in the current year.
In Ramanathapuram, District Revenue Officer A. M. Kamatchi Ganesan, who holds additional charge of Collector, inaugurated the Khadi sale.
