Better times ahead for Chamarajanagar

To project Chamarajanagar, industrialists and traders from the border district of Karnataka have formed a Chamber of Commerce & Industry affiliated to the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI), Bangalore.

Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy will inaugurate the Chamarajanagar District Chamber of Commerce & Industries (CDCCI) on May 28 during his maiden visit to the 'jinxed' town of Chamarajanagar.

The district is an ideal location for industries like textiles, mining, agriculture, food processing, electronics and IT.

"Across the border lies textile centres like Salem, Erode and Tirupur, Chamarajanagar has the potential to develop as a textile centre, including silk, as mulberry is a major crop in the district. Manpower will not be a problem as people are already being trained for the garment sector and another centre is being proposed to supply about 2,000 trained personnel," industrialist and FKCCI infrastructure development wing chairman R Shivakumar told Business Standard on Sunday.

Shivakumar, who is a granite quarry owner, said quarrying was a major industry in the district and contributes around Rs 18 crore to the exchequer. A large quantity of granite is exported. This is another major sector which can be taken up for development.

"At present, wooden sleepers are supplied to the Railways from Gulbarga. But if this wood industry is developed in Chamarajanagar, it would cut the cost on transportation by almost 75 per cent," he said.

Mysore is growing fast with the policy to encourage tier II cities. A Mysore-Chamarajanagar corridor would help develop Chamarajanagar district and benefit from the industrial growth in Tamil Nadu, he said urging the state to take up infrastructure development in this district.

Leading industrialists from Bangalore and Tamil Nadu recently visited Chamarajanagar and evinced interest in setting up units.

Encouraged by this the 170-member chamber will appeal to the chief minister to create the infrastructure required and the environment for the district's industrial growth, Shivakumar added.

Carved out of the Mysore district a few years ago, Chamarajanagar town has assumed importance as a district headquarters with a number of government offices and other related facilities being added regularly.