Free vetti, saree will be provided from January 2: Minister R. Gandhi

Handloom and textiles minister R.Gandhi said that the production of free vetti and saree will be provided from January 2, and production will start in August. 
District Collector Rajagopal Sunkara presided over the inauguration of the modernized Vasantham Co-Optex outlet in Erode on Wednesday. 
Minister R.Gandhi who inaugurated the sales outlet and launched the handloom industry campaign vehicle told the media: Co-Optex has set a sales target of Rs.400 crores in the current year. 
Delivery of free dhoti and saree was delayed last year but new designs were introduced. 
Handloom weavers have been given wage hike of 10 percent each last year and current year. 
466 staff who have been working temporarily for more than 10 years in Cooptex have been made permanent. 
Fluctuations in yarn prices are a challenge for the textile industry. 
Tamil Nadu needs 125 lakh bale yarn per year. Only 5 lakh bales produced in Tamil Nadu. Now, we have increased it to 15 lakh bales. 
 

We buy the remaining bales from other states. A 1% cess is payable on import of yarn from Cotton Corporation of India warehouses in other states. 
Thus textiles producers are affected. As an alternative to this, we are considering starting the Tamil Nadu Cotton Corporation to bring the yarn to Tamil Nadu and supply it. 
Manufacturers say that although the price of yarn has decreased slightly, the price of cloth has not and due to this, textiles have stagnated. 
This is due to less exports. We have spoken to the Central government about this. 
He said that the work of creating a textile park in Salem at a cost of Rs.113 crore has started. 
MLAs AG. Venkatachalam, Dr C. K. Saraswathi, Mayor Su. Nagaratnam and others participated.