T.N.’s Dindigul lock and Kandangi saree get GI tag

The lock is known throughout the world for its superior quality and durability while the cotton saree is characterised by large contrast borders

A range of hand-made Dindigul locks

Two well-known products from Tamil Nadu — Dindigul lock and Kandangi saree — have been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by The Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai.

The application for the lock was made by the Dindigul Lock, Hardware and Steel Furniture Workers Industrial Co-operative Society Limited. The Amarar Rajeev Gandhi Handloom Weavers Co-operative Production and Sales Society Limited filed the application for the Kandangi saree.

“Dindigul lock and Kandangi saree got registered today,” Chinnaraja G. Naidu, Deputy Registrar of Geographical Indications, told

The Hindu on Thursday morning. The GI for both the products were filed by Chennai-based IPR Attorney and GI Advocate Sanjai Gandhi.

The Dindigul locks are known throughout the world for their superior quality and durability, so much so that even the city is called Lock City. Government institutions such as prisons, godowns, hospitals, and even temples use these locks instead of other machine-made ones.

More than 3,125 lock manufacturing units are limited to an area of 5 km in and around Dindigul. They are concentrated in Nagelnagar, Nallampatti, Kodaiparailpatti, Kamalapatti and Yagappanpatti. The abundance of iron in this region is the reason for the growth of the industry. There are over 50 varieties of locks made by the artisans using raw materials such as MS flat plates and brass plates procured from the nearby towns, including Madurai and Salem.

The Kandangi sarees are manufactured in the entire Karaikudi taluk in Sivaganga district. They are characterised by large contrast borders and some are known to have borders covering as far as two-thirds of the saree which is usually around 5.10 m-5.60 m in length. Worn in summer, these cotton sarees are usually bought by customers in bulk.