16th KSIC outlet in Karnataka, sixth in Mysuru, opens on Kalidasa Road in Jayalakshmipuram

Key takeaways

• Apart from traditional Mysore Silk sarees, Crepe de chine (lightweight cloth similar to silk crepe) sarees are on sale.
• Georgette, plain printed sarees, ties, scarves wedding collections.
• 25 percent rebate on purchase.
• Pure gold and silver saree collection — 0.65 percent gold, 65 percent silver.
• Showroom will be open from 10 am to 8 pm.
• Minimum saree price Rs. 11,000; maximum Rs. 3 lakh.

Mysore/Mysuru: The State Government will upgrade the Mysore Silk factory in Mysuru and the tradition of Mysore Silk will be safeguarded and propagated, said Minister for Sericulture, Youth Empowerment and Sports K.C. Narayanagowda.

He was speaking after opening a new KSIC Mysore Silk showroom on Kalidasa Road, opposite the CFTRI Residential Complex in Jayalakshmipuram, here yesterday. This is the 16th KSIC outlet in Karnataka and sixth in Mysuru.

At present, the looms of Mysore Silk Factory are old and they will be upgraded to meet the high demand. Also, newer designs to the famed product from Mysuru will be introduced, at the same time keeping the originality in mind, he said. Self-starting Italian looms will be installed and there are plans to put up 150 modern looms, he added.

State-wide, there are over 175 silk looms that are defunct and steps will be taken to repair them as well. “We have already obtained data of many underutilised looms and defunct ones. All of them will be put to optimal use in phases so that there is increased production to meet the demand,” he said.

Noting that Mysore Silk has secured the coveted Geo-graphical Indication (GI) tag for its uniqueness, Narayanagowda said that the silk tradition was patronised by the rulers of Mysore and now patronised and promoted by the State.

Mentioning that the demand for Mysore Silk was very high and the State was unable to cater to the demand, the Minister revealed that Karnataka had got an order from Varanasi to supply over 3,000 metric tonnes of silk but is unable to fulfil it.

He said that new KSIC Mysore Silk showrooms would also come up in various airports of the country including Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai.

Chamaraja MLA L. Nagendra, Karnataka Compost Deve-lopment Corporation Chairman S. Mahadevaiah, Corporators Bhagya Ramesh and S.B.M. Manju, KSIC Chairman S.R. Gowda, Managing Director Vasireddy Vijaya Jyotsna, Managing Director (Markets) S. Bhanuprakash, Mysore Silk Factory Manager Sidda-lingaswamy and others were present.