Foundation stone for mini handloom park laid in Salem

Tourism Minister R. Rajendran and Handlooms and Textiles Minister R. Gandhi laid the foundation stone for a mini handloom park at Vanavasi on Friday.

The Ministers also distributed welfare assistance worth ₹37.61 lakh to 86 handloom weavers in the function.

Speaking at the function, Mr. Rajendran said that the Chief Minister is implementing various schemes, especially for the welfare of weavers. The government has been protecting the welfare of weavers by announcing the Integrated Textile Park and mini handloom park in Salem.

In the last four years, Tamil Nadu has achieved the record of being the first in the export of textile products. The government increased the free electricity for handlooms from 200 units to 300 units and the free electricity for power looms from 750 units to 1,000 units. Further, the weaving wage for power loom dhoti and saree has been increased by ₹75.95 for saree and ₹64.38 for dhoti under the free saree and dhoti distribution scheme. Likewise, ₹1.55 crore in financial assistance for introducing new varieties produced by cooperative societies and special exhibitions to increase the sales of handloom fabrics to improve the livelihood of handloom weavers has been implemented, Mr. Rajendran added.

Listing the schemes implemented by the State government, Mr. Gandhi said that the funeral assistance for weavers has been increased from ₹2,000 to ₹5,000. For weavers under the Kalaignar Kanavu Illam scheme, assistance has been increased from ₹2.15 lakh to ₹4 lakh. In the budget statement for the year 2023-2024, it was announced that mini handloom parks would be set up in 10 places in Tamil Nadu. Following this, the foundation stone of the park has been laid in the Salem district, at an estimated cost of ₹5 crore.

The park will have a modern handloom weaving production facility, a design and training centre and an integrated manufacturing centre for handloom weavers. The park will initially be constructed with a capacity of operating 50 handlooms. This park will provide direct and indirect employment to 150 people. Steps have been taken to provide a daily wage of ₹800 to ₹1,500 at this park. This will improve the livelihood of the handloom weavers, Mr. Gandhi added.

Handlooms Department Director Maheswari Ravikumar, MPs S.R. Sivalingam and T.M. Selvaganapathi, and officials participated in the function.