BENGALURU: The Gram Seva Sangh has started a movement across Karnataka called Save Gramodyog, a two-fold campaign involving village and city. Also a handloom exhibition will be held at Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru from Oct 1-Oct 4. Theatre personality and social activist Prasanna said that inspired by the glorious struggle undertaken by the rural women of Charaka Handloom Cooperative Heggodu, Gram Seva Sangh has started the movement across the state.
In the two- fold campaign, one is a village-based one, led by poor people, who will demand the restoration of village industries (as also city-based small & medium industries). They will picket Panchayat offices in a non-violent manner and pose questions to the elected representatives on the pathetic state of the village economy. The second, a city-based campaign, running parallely, will be led by the urban consumers. They will ask people to buy handmade products and promote them. Prasad Bidapa, fashion stylist, has appealed to the people to buy handmade products.
“Khadi supports villages in India and if we support it, we could change the colour of the economy of the country. We will create awareness amongst the designers as what can be produced in villages. I request all the designers to support khadi, block printing and hand embroidery. We can create unique and beautiful handmade products. We can have signature products too,” he said. Abhilash C A, convener, Gram Seva Sangh, said that the first exhibition-cum-sale will be at Gandhi Bhavan from October 1-4 from 4pm.
“The second exhibition-cumsale, a permanent one, will start at Karasthala, Hoysala Circle, in Bengaluru from the evening of October 2. Other exhibitions are also being planned across the state. The slogan given to the consumer campaign is ‘Come in as a Consumer and go out as an Activist’,” said Abhilash.