KHDC draws up plan to face competition from textile mills

Hubli, Mar 1 (UNI) Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation (KHDC) is bracing to compete with other textile companies through a pilot programme and will also set up a market for itself, according to KHDC Chairman M D Lakshminarayana.

Talking to newspersons here today, he said though there was demand for handloom fabric, the corporation was lagging behind due to financial crunch.

"It is running under loss of Rs.57 crore. Though the government has given an order for manufacturing of 63 lakh uniform sets for students, it has not paid any advance. With its own resources, the corporation has already supplied 20 lakh sets of uniform by February this year and hope to clear the full order, by May end this year," he said.

He urged the government to make at least 50 per cent of the payment, besides the amount of Rs.61 crore due from last year to help the weavers. Out of 55,000 weavers only 12,000 had remained in the profession in the state and rest had taken up different jobs. It was also proposed to provide monthly pension of Rs.500 to the weavers who have completed 60 years of age, besides some other benefits would also be extended to the weaving community, he added.

UNI