Kerala: Plea to wear khadi once a week

Kottayam, Feb 3: Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board Vice Chairman T Govindan has emphasised the need for all Malayalees to wear Khadi once a week to popularise its use.

Talking to newsmen here today, he said elaborate programmes were being evolved for the development of the Khadi and Village Industries as part of the Golden Jubilee of the Board this year.

Steps were being taken to protect carpentry, black smithy, pottery and other traditional industries.

The board had a plan to popularise beekeeping in the state and to make Kerala the honey store. He said Rs 7.71 crore had been earmarked under the Margin Money Scheme of the Board for the Year 2006-07. Under the scheme some 8,750 employment opportunities were created this year.

The Board had a plan to create one lakh employment opportunities during the next five years in the traditional sector, he said.

He was here to deliver the keynote address in a seminar ''Khadi- Handloom, a Kerala dress.''

UNI