Recalling the time when cotton mills in Davangere, Hubballi, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Belagavi and other places in the State were processing raw cotton and manufacturing clothes and readymade garments, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai blamed the previous governments for destroying the textiles industry in the State because of their wrong policies.
“Davangere was known as the Manchester of Karnataka. There were other cities like Kalaburagi, Raichur, Hubballi and Belagavi where cotton mills were processing raw cotton produced by farmers in the State and manufacturing clothes. Now, all the cotton mills are closed because of the wrong policies. The then governments did not have the sense to protect the industry that was based on the local agriculture production,” Mr. Bommai said.
A jam-packed auditorium at the PDA Engineering College in Kalaburagi on Tuesday when the Chief Minister addressed the meeting after launching a mega textile park allocated to Kalaburagi under PM-MITRA Scheme. | Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
He was addressing a public meeting at the PDA Engineering College Auditorium in Kalaburagi on Tuesday after launching the Union government’s mega textile park allocated to Kalaburagi in Karnataka under PM-MITRA (Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) Scheme. The textile park is one among the seven such parks granted by the Union government to seven States.
Pointing to the widespread migration from the Kalyana Karnataka region to megacities such as Hyderabad and Mumbai in search of livelihood options, Mr. Bommai said that the mega textile park, which will come up on a sprawling 1,000 acres near Kalaburagi, will hopefully address the issue of migration by generating jobs for the local people.
“People from this area travel hundreds of kilometres to find work in Hyderabad, Mumbai and other cities to take care of their families. The mega textile park that is being established in Kalaburagi will effectively address this issue of migration by generating around one lakh direct employment and two lakh indirect jobs,” Mr. Bommai said.
Highlighting the importance of the mega textile park in the creation of employment, Mr. Bommai said that the textile industry is the third major industry in the country in terms of employment generation, after energy and coal industries.
“We could have thought of giving some other industry to Kalaburagi. But, we preferred to give this textile park as it is one of the core industries along with energy and coal that creates jobs on a massive scale. People’s lives will rapidly change with the commencement of this textile park,” Mr. Bommai said.
Expressing hopes for Kalaburagi’s development prospects, the Chief Minister said that the city will become an investment hub not just for Karnataka but for the entire India just because of its strategic location and connectivity.
“In 10 years from now, Kalaburagi will become a major investment hub because of its strategic location in South India and its road, rail and air connectivity. It will be a future city for not just Karnataka but for India,” Mr. Bommai said.
Union Minister for Textiles and Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, who was scheduled to be present at the meeting, could not attend as he was busy with other work in New Delhi. However, he sent a video message wishing for the success of the textile park and the message was played at the meeting.
Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed with nine private companies in the cotton processing and textile business with expected investment of ₹2,000 crore, including ₹500 crore each from Himatsingka and Shaid Exports.
Union Minister of States for Railways and Textiles Darshana V. Jardosh, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, New and Renewable Energy Bhagawanth Khuba, Minister for Large and Medium Industries Murugesh Nirani, Minister for Handloom and Textiles Shankara Patil Munenkoppa and Lok Sabha member from Kalaburagi Umesh Jadhav were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.
