Earlier govts did not have the sense to protect cotton mills based on local agri production: CM

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. 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.

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.

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.