Kerala - Pathanamthitta   

Khadi clothes set a new trend

Hot picks: ‘Gandhi’ shirts on display at a stall of the Alleppey Sarvodaya Sangh at the ‘Khadi Utsav-2008’.

PATHANAMTHITTA: ‘Gandhi’ shirts and ‘Kutir’ churidars launched by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and Alleppey Sarvodaya Sangh have become a rage among the youth. The garments were ‘hot picks’ at the just-concluded ‘Khadi Utsav-2008’ at Thiruvalla.

According to R. Shaji, KVIC official and administrator of Alleppey Sarvodaya Sangh, sale of the two garments at the 12-day fair had fetched revenue of Rs.10 lakh. The sales turnover at the three stalls opened at the khadi fair by the Alleppey Sarvodaya Sangh alone was Rs. 21.70 lakh as on Monday.

The KVIC-financed Alleppey Sarvodaya Sangh has 13 production centres and the products are sold at its 18 sales outlets in Ernakulam, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts.

Mr. Shaji said the ‘Gandhi’ shirts in cotton and silk are priced between Rs.350 and Rs.800 and the churidar in cotton muslin between Rs.600 and Rs.700.

Khadi production at the Sangh units is often inadequate to meet the annual requirement of its garment manufacturing units at Aranmula, says Mr Shaji.

The Sangh has also launched the Khadigramom project with the support of local bodies in four grama panchayats in Kottayam and Alappuzha districts. The project is aimed at augmenting khadi production through home-based small units. A total of 330 families in the four panchayats have benefited from the scheme. The project has now been implemented by various other khadi institutions in different parts of the State, he said.

Mr. Shaji said ‘Gandhi’ shirts and ‘Kutir’ churidars valued at Rs. 45 lakh were sold in the past 11 months. He said the Sarvodaya Sangh was also exploring the possibility of exploiting the export potential of the khadi garments by purchasing cloth from outside the State.

According to him, the Sarvodaya Sangh had sold khadi products valued at Rs.126.12 lakh in 2006-’07.

He said the employees were also being motivated and encouraged to modernise the khadi industry in tune with the changing modern times, without deviating from the Gandhian ideology and concept.

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