KOPPAL: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa laid the foundation stone for the country’s first-ever toy cluster at Talbal village in the district on Saturday, with the expectation that some of the units at the cluster would start functioning by the year-end.
“The State Government has already acquired 272 acres of land for the cluster in and around Talbal village. The Special Economic Zone is expected to achieve progress in the next couple of years, and we will invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the cluster,” Yediyurappa said.
The cluster is expected to attract big investments and generate employment to a large number of people in the region. “I will ensure that a few units will start operations by the end of this year,” he added.
“At present, the volume of toy manufacturing business in the country is around Rs 1,200 crore. It is expected to go up to Rs 2,300 crore once this state-of-the-art toy cluster starts operating fully,” he said.
The ongoing Gadag-Wadi rail line project too will help the toy cluster and improve the economy in the area, he said.
Mobile testing van for RSKs
Yediyurappa also flagged off mobile vans to each of 20 Raita Sampark Kendras (RSKs) under ‘Krishi Sanjeevini’ scheme of the Agriculture Department in Koppal district. The vans will help farmers with soil and water testing. He also distributed the agriculture department’s ‘Swabhimani Raita’ identity cards to a few farmers. The ID cards contain relevant records of agriculture fields of respective farmers.
Koppal District in-charge minister, who is also agriculture minister, B C Patil, MP Sanganna Karadi, MLA Halappa Achar, former ministers R V Deshpande and Basavaraj Rayareddy and others were present.
Cong men irk CM
Former minister R V Deshpande found it difficult to speak as he had a throat ache. But another former minister Basavaraj Rayareddy objected to Deshpande’s speech, even as the CM was visibly embarrassed. As chaos prevailed, some shouted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ slogans in support of Deshpande, while Rayareddy’s followers too countered them with their own sloganeering.