BENGALURU: Karnataka Textile Minister Shivanand Patil along with weavers delegation from Doddaballapur are flying to Delhi, to meet Union Textile Minister Giriraj Singh, seeking Centre’s intervention for Surat mills manufacturing Doddaballapur lookalike sarees.
B G Hemanth Raju, President of Weavers’ Rights Forum, Doddaballapur, said they were invited to take part in the meeting on Monday. “Minister assured us to take our delegation to Union Textile Ministry. He will also be writing to them about Surat sarees putting our weavers into distress’’ he said. He also said the weavers urged Minister Patil about bringing the Power Loom Reservation Act to restricts mills from copying power loom sarees.
Textile department said they are bringing Textile Policy 2025-30, where the state government is stressing on helping weavers. They are planning to start a textile mela, similar to farmers mela, where weavers get a platform to sell. Minister Patil said the Textile Policy is in the finishing stage.
He has also received suggestions to pay stipend to youths who take up weaving as profession, as it is on a decline. Patil also said they are going to call for global tender to develop a textile park. The Centre intends to develop seven such textile park across the country.
In Karnataka, with lack of basic amenities, the project was delayed and now they are taking up the work to fasten the process of developing the textile park in Kalaburgi’ he assured.