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Government mulls formation of Coir Development Agency

Special Correspondent

A Rs.3-crore Coir Growth Centre is also on the anvil

Puducherry: Industries and Agriculture Minister V. Vaithilingam said that the administration had planned to set up Coir Development Agency to facilitate marketing of coir products produced here.

Handing over motorised "rattas" to women artisans at the one-day seminar on "Feasible Projects of Coir in Puducherry" organised jointly by the Regional Office of Coir Board and the District Industries Centre (DIC) here on Tuesday, Mr. Vaithilingam said that the Government would also set up, during the current fiscal, Coir Growth Centre at a cost of Rs. 3 crore in Ariyankuppam. It would provide infrastructure support to establish fibre extraction units, automatic spinning, automatic looms and a mattress unit. It would provide direct employment to 500 persons, while around 2,000 persons would get indirect jobs.

The Minister thanked the Coir Board for selecting Puducherry under its "Scheme of Fund of Regeneration of Traditional Industries" to develop various traditional industries including coir production ones. He said that the Government was considering a proposal to make available the motorised "rattas" available to the artisans without letting them to bear the current burden of spending Rs. 2,500 (machine costs Rs.1 0,000) as their contribution to get the machine. He urged women artisans and trainees to get maximum benefits of various schemes of the Board operated by the DIC.

Chairman of the Board A.C. Jose said that he had requested Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh Governments to impose a ban on burning of the husks in the thermal plants, as the husk was a major component of pith for production of fibre. He said, at present, members of self-help groups in Kerala were earning good income by collecting the husks. Pith was another important component and Rs. 60 crore worth of pith was exported from Tamil Nadu to France last year. Mr. Jose said that there was a good scope for development of the coir industry in Puducherry. The Regional Officer of the Coir Board, Pollachi R. Nagarajan, Director of the Central Coir Research Institute, Kalavoor in Kerala, Dr. U.S. Sharma and Functional Manager of the DIC in Puducherry Augustin Lucien Diagou were among those who spoke.

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