KANNUR: Not just policemen and politicians, now doctors too will don khadi attire. As part of the new initiative to provide a fillip to the shrinking khadi industry, the state has decided to provide overcoats made from the fabric to doctors, nurses and medical students at government hospitals.
The state-level inauguration of the project will be carried out by Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board vice-president P Jayarajan at Kannur government medical college hospital (MCH), Pariyaram, at 10.30am on Tuesday. Kannur MCH principal S Prathap will preside over the function. The overcoats will be manufactured by the Khadi Vyavasaya Board, Payyannur centre. The new initiative is expected to fetch additional revenue to the board.
The khadi board had sought the state’s intervention for the industry’s revival. The government had at the time suggested that its employees across the state wear dress made of khadi once a week.
Jayarajan had also submitted a representation seeking the government’s intervention on the suggestion to provide overcoats to doctors. He had submitted a model of the proposed overcoat with the representation. Jayarajan said once the project takes off in government hospitals, the khadi board will issue a circular urging private hospitals to implement the initiative.
Meanwhile, the government’s suggestion that its employees wear khadi dress once a week has been successfully implemented in Kannur, Jayarajan said.
Kozhikode MCH doctors to get khadi coats soon
“Almost 90% of government employees in the district are doing it,” he said, adding that the khadi board is planning to expand the initiative to the cooperative sector too. Khadi overcoats will be distributed among doctors, medical students and nurses during Tuesday’s event. Around 160 students in the first batch of MBBS course at Kannur MCH will also wear the overcoats. The project will be implemented in Kozhikode MCH too, said Jayarajan. Students of Kannur AKG nursing college will also wear khadi overcoats, he said.