Mangalore: Nationwide 'Kranthi Express' brings new dimension to coir products
Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore
Mangalore, Nov 12: ‘Coir Kranthi Express’, an exhibition on wheels initiated by Coir Board to give people a glimpse into the world of coir and its products reached the city on Tuesday November 12.
The coir expo bus was flagged off from Town Hall by district in-charge minister Ramanath Rai. The bus will go to residential areas in the city before entering Udupi via Suratkal.
T M Shahid, member of Coir Board said the ‘Coir Kranthi Express’ is an initiative by Coir Board to popularize coir and coir products among people. "Coir is eco-friendly and various useful products can be manufactured from it. The country’s coir item exports come up to Rs 1,200 crore," he said.
"We also provide grants to people who wish to set up coir units. In Karnataka, most of them open coir units in order to avail subsidy and later they close down," he said.
"The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) organizes various pro-people activities. It also undertakes training for around 120 youth from every district to set up units. The coir can be very useful - in Kerala more than 150 km of road has been laid using coir and so also the runway at Calicut airport," he informed
The express bus which started its journey from Kanyakumari on October 5 is scheduled to reach New Delhi on November 25. President Pranab Mukherjee, AICC president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and others are expected to be present on the occasion.
Efforts are also being made to open a sub-regional coir board office and a coir store in the city, he added.
Minister Ramanath Rai in his address said the by-products of coconut should be made valuable by preparing many useful products and giving them to people. "I am sure the bus by going to various place will create awareness among people about the uses of coir," he said.
Speaking to Daijiworld, Manjunath S, extension officer, Coir Board, Bangalore said, "The coir has zero percent wastage and all the coir items displayed in the expo are natural. There are more than 100 coir items on display."
The coir items displayed in the expo include mats, frames, handbags, clothes, hats, umbrellas, paintings, jewellery, clothes, footwear and so on.
MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, KPCC secretary Ivan D’Souza, Shashidar Hegde, Badruddin, Ashraf, M S Mohammed, Kodijal Ibrahim among others were present.