Kerala   

Khadi centre out of the red

PAYYANNUR: The Payyannur Khadi Centre (PKC) here under the Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board (KKVIB) is no longer in a crisis.

A few years ago accumulated stock of products and shortage of funds made the going tough for the centre which employs nearly 1,800 people in Kannur and Kasaragod districts.

The PKC now anticipates growth in the wake of a modernisation and diversification drive initiated to save it from the crisis. It has now shifted to producing products that are in demand such as readymade clothing.

The centre has stopped producing bandage cotton and bed sheets that are not fast-moving. The PKC today has an array of products ranging from readymade shirting to dotis to silk saris, in addition to village industries products such as honey.

One of the seven khadi centres started by the erstwhile Madras government in the 1950s, the PKC has 65 spinning units and 43 weaving units in Kannur and Kasaragod districts.

Cash-strapped it was a few years ago as bandage cotton and bed sheets it produced in anticipation of orders from the State government remained unsold.

Financially, the centre is in a comfortable position now as it can meet its expenses without any grant from the government.

The clothing items produced by the PKC recorded good sale over the past few years.

The turnover from the sale of cloth products rose from Rs.4.6 crore in 2006-07 to Rs.6.6 crore in 2007-08. PKC officials expect the turnover to rise to Rs.10 crore this year.

Production of cloth products has also increased during the period. In 2006-07, the value of cloth items produced totalled Rs.2.9 crore, which rose to Rs.3.9 crore in 2007-08.

“The demand for khadi products has increased and so has our production,” says PKC Director M. Suresh Babu. He, however, admits that the centre’s priority is to increase productivity to ensure that it can satisfy the demand for its products.

Steps are already under way to replace 1,000 each old looms and ‘charkas’ as part of a plan to raise production, Mr. Babu says adding that the Rs.2 crore sanctioned to the PKC under the Central government-assisted cluster programme will give a further boost to the centre.

The khadi fabric production of the PKC has been mechanised up to the stage of re-processing of cotton for spinning. The demand for khadi school uniforms in the region was so high this year that it could not meet the demand.

In 2007-08, it supplied school uniforms to 6,500 students and in the current academic year, it sold the uniforms to 8,500 students.

This year, the PKC introduced readymade cotton top for girls under the brand ‘Summer Cool.’

PKC officials say that the product is getting good response as it is now being initially sold at the showroom of the KKVIB here.

There is also plan to conduct fashion shows to promote its new products in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, they say.

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