T. Narasipur: Silk saree production at the heritage Filature Factory of the Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) in T. Narasipur resumed this morning after employees ended their 15-day strike.

Workers had gone on strike opposing the proposed construction of a stadium within the premises of the T. Narasipur Filature Factory. Though some uncertainty over the proposal persists, employees decided to call off the protest following an assurance from KSIC Managing Director Zehra Naseem.

The Managing Director assured the workers that a stadium would not be built within the factory premises. “I assure you that under no circumstances will a stadium be constructed here. There will be no inconvenience to the workers. I request everyone to end the protest and resume duty,” she said.

Trusting the assurance, workers withdrew the strike yesterday and reported for duty this morning. With the resumption of work, silk thread extraction at the factory has restarted. The threads produced here will be supplied to silk saree weaving units in Mysuru and Channapatna.

Team visits, assesses the situation

Meanwhile, MLC Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah said the final decision on constructing a stadium will be taken based on a report submitted by officials.

Speaking to reporters yesterday after inspecting factory premises, he said the State Government had indeed proposed constructing a stadium at the KSIC premises. However, he clarified that the decision was not taken arbitrarily.

“The intention was never to inconvenience KSIC workers. Many of the employees working here belong to the Varuna and T. Narasipur Constituencies. If they face difficulties, it concerns us as well. There was no intention of troubling them by building a stadium,” he said.

He explained that officials had explored other options earlier but were unable to identify suitable land. “Several organisations, environmentalists and workers have since argued that the KSIC premises may not be suitable for a stadium. They have cited technical concerns such as the factory’s pipeline connection from the river, the presence of a boiler and the need for space to unload coal,” he said.

“In view of these objections, I have asked officials to submit another detailed report. If the report concludes that the site is unsuitable, the plan to construct the stadium here will be dropped. But if officials confirm that the site is appropriate and the objections are not technically valid, the stadium will be built here,” the MLC said.

Among those present during the factory inspection were Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy, Superintendent of Police Mallikarjun Baladandi, Tahsildar T.J. Sureshachar, KSIC Managing Director Zehra Naseem, KSIC General Manager Manjula, PCARD Bank President Mahadevanna, former TAPCMS Vice-President B. Maraiah, among others.