TNI Bureau: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Khadi and Gram Ydyog (Khadi and Village Industries) Exhibition at the Unit 3 Exhibition Ground in Bhubaneswar yesterday. The exhibition will end on December 19. Around 130 Khadi and Gram Udyog institutions across the country are participating here.
This is the first time Odisha Khadi and Gram Ydyog is holding such a national-level exhibition, which is a matter of pride for Odias. The aim of this exhibition is to make Khadi and Gram Udyog popular among the masses and increase the sale.
Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik, who inaugurated the exhibition, said, “Khadi was the symbol of self-respect during the freedom struggle. It helped to maintain the unity in diversity,”.
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He further said, “Khadi is the perfect medium of inclusive growth, as it generates more employment next to agriculture sector”. It can be recalled that at the behest of the Chief Minister, a government discount of 10% is being given on all khadi and poly clothes from 2011-12. The Odisha Khadi and Gram Udyog expects a revenue of Rs 4 crore in 2012-13 as against Rs 1.5 crore in 2011-12.
Minister for Health & Family Welfare, MSME, Dr. Damodar Rout also addressed at the occasion and said, “The British government chopped off the hands of our weavers so that the weaving industry did not flourish in India. The British used to take raw materials from India, manufactured them in their country and then sell in India. It was Mahatma Gandhi, who raised his voices and revived the weaving industry by promoting Khadi”.
A national-level seminar will be held at the Khadi Exhibition venue on December 11. The Khadi and Gram Udyog Board will release a white paper on that seminar.