BENGALURU: Apart from basic supplies such as rice, grains, and oil, Karnataka’s ration shops may soon stock the luxury soap Mysuru Sandal and spread their fragrance across the state. A senior officer of the Food and Civil Supplies department said that both ration shop owners and BPL card holders will get the geographical information (GI)-tagged product at a subsidised rate.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Gopalaiah said, “We have 19,000 ration shops. If we can sell these soaps, the factory will benefit as a large number of soaps will be procured. I have high regard for this factory which is a landmark. It was started by two great people - Nalvadi Krishnaraja and Visvesvaraya.”
“In the coming days, we will discuss it with the authorities concerned and implement it,’’ he said. During World War I, tonnes of sandalwood could not be exported. The then king of Mysuru Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar and Dewan Sir M Vishweshwaraiah thought of making soaps with the stock and started the Mysuru Sandal Soap Factory in 1916. The first experiment to extract oil from sandalwood was conducted at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.