Reverse migration of weavers on the cards

Warangal calling

KCR lays foundation for Kakatiya Mega Textile Park

Warangal: The vortex of unemployment that led to the migration of lakhs of people to the western part of the country will soon be a sort of history with the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park (KMTP), touted as a one-stop shop for textile industry, commencing its operations next year. The rosy picture the government presents indicates that reverse migration of weavers is soon on the cards with investments to pour in substantially.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, addressing a meeting after laying foundation stone for the KMTP on Sunday, said: “The textile park will fill the void gap left behind by the closure of Azam Jahi Mills. It will also unite the thousands of workers who migrated to Maharashtra and Gujarat with their near and dear. This apart, the administration will ensure jobs to displaced families in the park.”

Unveiling the road map for development of the weaving community, KCR said the ambitious Rs1,150 crore mega textile park will have world class capabilities to produce all varieties of fabric under one roof and will provide 27,000 jobs directly and over 50,000 indirectly.

The project, which is aimed at providing employment to locals and handloom weavers from Warangal, will come up on a sprawling 1,190-acre campus. The Park site is located between Geesukonda and Sangem mandals in Warangal (Rural) district. The mega Textile Park is expected to attract investments to the tune of at least Rs11,500 crore and provide direct or indirect employment to 1.13 lakh people.

The upcoming textile park is likely to generate 66,000 direct and indirect jobs. But what augurs well is that it can bring back thousands of weavers who migrated to far flung places in search of livelihood. The quantum of migration is such that the lingo used in several areas of Solapur, Bhiwandi, Surat etc gives an impression that they are part of Telugu States.

“Driven by penury, we went to Surat to make a living. Hopefully, the textile park coming up in Warangal will help we live together,” Kota Upender and Kota Veeraswamy of Aripirala village under Thorrur mandal in Mahabubabad district told The Hans India. Ekantham of Kodakandla said that around 4 lakh workers from Telangana are in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Strategically located, the KMTP, the biggest such facility in the country, is expected to commission full-fledged from the processing of cotton to ready-to-wear garments units within 12 months if all goes well according to the State government’s plan. This apart, some companies are also planning to install prefabricated textile units that likely to start manufacturing in three to four months.

The upcoming park will be a one-stop shop for all kinds of textiles unlike Solapur, Surat and Tirupur which are famous for producing chaddars, suit salwars and hosiery respectively. On the first day of laying foundation stone for the park (October 22), the government entered into memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 22 textile majors including multinationals that worth around Rs 3,900 crore investments.

A skill training centre that could accommodate 1,000 workers will also come up in the park. MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao, who also holds the portfolio of industries and Commerce, said that the textile park will be developed with the slogan of ‘farm to fashion’.