BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has decided not to construct a stadium on a five-acre land belonging to the Karnataka Silk Industry corporation (KSIC) in T Narasipura of Mysuru district, Sericulture Minister K Venkatesh informed the Assembly on Monday.
He was responding to BJP MLA from Krishnaraja, Srivatsa TS, who had raised the issue in the Assembly.
Venkatesh also stated that KSIC has produced over 3.09 lakh Mysuru silk sarees in the last three years, with daily production ranging from 350 to 400 pieces. He said the profit for the same period was Rs 220 crore. “A few officials misguided the CM about the land. The CM got to know about this and decided not to go ahead with the project on this land,” Venkatesh said.
There has been widespread opposition from various quarters, including the Opposition parties, in handing over the KSIC land to the sports department to construct the stadium.
Srivatsa, who raised the issue, said there is a demand for Mysuru silk sarees, and women stand in long queues outside KSIC outlets as early as 3 am to buy the sarees. “In each of these outlets, close to 500 people can be seen standing in the queue. This has to stop, and the government must make these sarees available at these outlets according to the demand.
The demand is so huge, sometimes, people put pressure on MLAs to get sarees from godowns. This industry is a profit-making one. If the government can invest more in it, they can fulfil the demand and make more profit,” he said.
Minister Venkatesh said on average, the KSIC produces 350 to 400 sarees daily. “The demand is more because the quality of the saree is good. If there is slight damage in the saree, women will not buy. We cannot produce sarees in bulk, it will not be sold too. We are trying to increase production,” he said.
On online sales of KSIC sarees, Venkatesh said they are planning to stop it as they want to supply sarees locally first. Only after increasing the production can we consider online sales, he added.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said that at a time when government undertakings are rarely making a profit, KSIC is earning a profit. “Why does the government want to shut it down? Is there any lobby?” he said. Ashoka further said government is planning to shut the industry itself.
“At T Narasipura, 1000s of acres are converted into private layouts. To construct a stadium, the government can buy land elsewhere,” the BJP leader said.