The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on Friday opened its first silk processing plant at Surendranagar in Gujarat which would help cut down the cost of production of silk yarn and increase availability of raw material used in production of Patola sarees locally.
Patola, the trademark saree of Gujarat, is considered to be expensive as the raw material silk yarn is purchased from Karnataka or West Bengal, where silk processing units are situated, thus increasing the cost of the fabric manifolds, KVIC said in a statement.
KVIC Chairman V K Saxena said cocoons will be brought from Karnataka and West Bengal, and silk yarn will be processed in house, thus reducing the cost of production and giving a major boost to the sale of famous Gujarati Patola sarees.
KVIC has invested Rs 60 lakh to build the silk processing plant in order to generate livelihoods and boost sales of Patola sarees by making silk more readily available at a low cost for Patola saree manufacturers in the nearby areas, the statement added.