Silk industrial corridor to come up in Chittoor

M Srinivas Murthi

Chittoor: The State government has decided to setup a silk industrial corridor comprising 10 small-scale industries at Palamaneru in the district. Chittoor stands first in the State in the production of silk. However, due to the frequent fluctuations in the prices and the lack of patronage from the State government, the farmers who cultivate silk were facing immense hardships. Recently, the Central government gave the green signal to the State government to setup the industrial corridor in this connection. The government will set up a silk production unit near Gundrajupalli on a 100 acre site.

As there is lot of demand for silk, the farmers who cultivate it are likely to get support price for their produce and would also result in providing jobs directly and indirectly. For setting up the unit, the Central government has also sanctioned 40 to 50 per cent of the funds.

There has been a lot of expansion in the mulberry gardens in this region and they have extended up to 40,000 acres of land this year, when compared to 24,000 acres last year. This would result in the production of 130 metric tonnes of silk. Every year, 96,000 kg of silk is being produced.

Although there are 11 silk producing units in the district, the government was focussing on only two units in Chittoor and Palamaner. The silk, which is produced here, has to be taken to other states for selling and this was causing problems for several farmers. An industrial corridor has to be setup according to the guidelines prepared by the Central government and there should be storage facilities for keeping the goods, quality testing centres and godowns.

As Chittoor district is frequently hit by drought, the mulberry fruit, which requires less water for cultivation, has become a source of livelihood for many farmers. With conducive climate prevailing in the district for the growth of mulberry fruit and as the district lies on the border areas of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy instructed the officials to setup a silk production centre here and it is true that there was industrial advancement in the district after Kiran Kumar Reddy became Chief Minister with several projects coming up in his home constituency Pileru. The silk industry would provide jobs to 10 lakh people and the farmers would be rid of exploitation from middlemen and also would get support price.