BENGALURU: To meet the growing demand for famous Mysuru Silk sarees, the state government is ramping up production by providing 192 additional power looms to the Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation Limited (KSIC).
KSIC now produces 70,000 metres of silk sarees every month from its power looms and the additional looms will enable it to increase its monthly production to over one lakh metres. “We have set a higher target and the additional looms are being provided to meet the production needs,” said Sericulture Minister KC Narayan Gowda on Monday.
The state government also issued an order to repair unused power looms with Karnataka Silk Development Centres in Hassan, Tumakuru, Ballari, Vijayapura and Belagavi and shift them to KSIC facilities in Mysuru and Channapatna. KSIC is a state government enterprise that has obtained the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Mysore Silk.
Gowda said there is a lot of demand for Mysuru silk sarees in India and abroad and the government is taking measures to increase the production of high-quality silk sarees. “The extra power looms will create more demand for cocoons and farmers will get a good price for their produce. Shifting of power looms will strengthen KSIC and also protect farmers’ interests,” he said.
At present, KSIC has 159 power looms at Mysuru Old Mill, 60 at Mysuru New Mill and 30 in Channapatna. Once the new looms are set up, the government is thinking of producing silk sarees in two shifts, said a statement issued by the minister’s office.
Farmers in Ramanagara, Tumakuru, Kolar and other districts take up sericulture farming. The price of cocoons has gone up since manufacturers of Banaras silk sarees started sourcing the raw material from Karnataka after a central government ban on China silk.