Earlier Govts Lacked Spirit to Protect Cotton Mills Based on Local Agri Production, says Bommai

"Davangere was renowned as Karnataka's Manchester. Other cities with cotton mills included Kalaburagi, Raichur, Hubballi, and Belagavi, where raw cotton produced by farmers in the state was processed and clothing were manufactured. Because to bad policies, all cotton mills are now closed. At the time, governments did not have the foresight to defend an industry based on local farm output," Bommai added.

He was speaking at the PDA Engineering College Auditorium in Kalaburagi on Tuesday after unveiling the Union government's PM-MITRA (Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) Project, which was assigned to Kalaburagi in Karnataka. The textile park is one of seven such parks provided to seven states by the Union government.

In response to widespread migration from the Kalyana Karnataka region to megacities such as Hyderabad and Mumbai in search of employment opportunities, Bommai stated that the mega textile park, which will be built on a sprawling 1,000-acre plot near Kalaburagi, will hopefully address the issue of migration by creating jobs for the locals. "To support their families, people from this area travel hundreds of kilometres to find work in Hyderabad, Mumbai, and other places."

The giant textile park being built in Kalaburagi will effectively address the issue of migration by creating one lakh direct jobs and two lakh indirect jobs, according to Bommai. He emphasized the importance of the mega textile park in job creation, stating that the textile industry is the country's third largest employer after the energy and coal industries. "We could have considered providing Kalaburagi another industry. Yet, we chose to provide this textile park because it is one of the major industries, along with oil and coal, that generates a large number of jobs. With the start of this textile park, people's lives will change dramatically, "Bommai predicted.

The Chief Minister expressed optimism for Kalaburagi's development potential, stating that the city will become an investment destination not only for Karnataka, but for the entire country, due to its strategic position and connectivity. "Kalaburagi will become a major investment hub in 10 years due to its strategic location in South India and its road, rail, and air connectivity. It will be a future city not only for Karnataka, but for India, "Bommai predicted.

Union Minister for Textiles and Trade and Industry Piyush Goyal, who was supposed to attend the conference, was unable to attend due to other commitments in New Delhi. He did, however, send a video greeting wishing the textile park success, which was aired at the conference. Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were inked with nine private companies in the cotton processing and textile business, totaling 2,000 crore in planned investment, including 500 crore each from Himatsingka and Shaid Exports.

Darshana V. Jardosh, Union Minister of State for Railways and Textiles, Bhagawanth Khuba, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, New and Renewable Energy, Murugesh Nirani, Minister for Handloom and Textiles Shankara Patil Munenkoppa, and Lok Sabha member from Kalaburagi Umesh Jadhav were among the dignitaries present.