Known for its exquisitely handmade silk and handloom sarees, Kancheepuram, which has its own tradition of crafted silk and handloom sarees, will soon get a handloom and silk park. Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa has allocated Rs 7.54 crore for establishing the park named after former chief minister Anna.
The allocation ordered by the chief minister on Saturday accounts for nine per cent of the total project cost amounting to Rs 83.83 crore in establishing the park on over 75 acres at Keezhkathirpur in Kancheepuram district.
The Arignar Anna Handloom and Silk Park will be set up under the Integrated Textile Park Project (ITPP), according to an official release here. As the 75-acre land is valued at Rs 13.77 crore, the present allocation would cover a portion of the cost, the outstanding amount of Rs 6.23 crore would be given to the silk park as unsecured government loan, to be repaid in five years.
“The Tamil Nadu government will provide all basic infrastructure like road, drinking water, drainage and dyeing reprocessing unit at the park,” the release said. The proposed park would have all infrastructure needed for handloom and silk industry. The park would also facilitate direct and indirect employment to about 10,000 persons.
The chief minister has also ordered the establishment of handloom workers’ training centres in handloom hubs like Kumbakonam and Kancheepuram at the total cost of Rs 92.19 lakh. Each centre would be set up at a cost of Rs 46.09 lakh on the premises of Handloom / Powerloom Weavers Cooperative Society to train weavers in gaining expertise on design and dyeing.
The initiative would facilitate further growth in the handloom sector ensuring livelihood opportunities to the handloom weavers thereby improving the lot of the weavers.