HUBBALLI: People are demanding larger-than-usual flags in the run-up to India’s 70th Independence Day on Monday.
This has been a busy month at the flag-making unit at Bengeri in Hubballi. It produces flags throughout the year, but demand peaks in August. Sales are hitting a record high this year.
In previous years, government and private organisations bought standard-size flags for hoisting (4x6 ft) on August 15, but this time, they want larger ones, a business insider said. The largest flag produced here is 14 ft high and 21 feet wide, and is priced at about `25,000. The smallest is pocket-sized, and comes for `2.
Representatives from government offices, Gram Panchayats, schools and colleges throng the khadi outlet in Hubballi ahead of August 15.
The flags are made from pure cotton handspun, with the raw material being procured from Bagalkot and Dharwad districts.
The Bengeri unit is run by Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha (KKGSS). It was established in 2004, after the spinning mills of Garag, which used to produce the flags, went into decline. Garag is about 40 km from here, and the village is part of Dharwad district.
Over the last four years, the Bengeri unit has sold more than five crore flags. Its retail outlet at Harsha Complex in Hubballi sells flags and khadi products such as shirts, kurtas and bedspreads.
“The government has made it mandatory for Gram Panchayat and Zilla Panchayat offices to change the national flag once in three to four months. This means they have to buy at least three flags a year,” B S Hiremath, Secretary of KKGSS, told Express.
Some of the most important national structures, such as Parliament House and Rashtrapati Bhavan, hoist flags made in this northern Karnataka city.