State delegation to meet PM over silk price

BANGALORE:  Concerned over the continued slump in the market prices of cocoon and raw silk, the state government has decided to take an allparty delegation to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urge him to initiate measures to protect the Rs1,200 crore silk industry in Karnataka.
Addressing the press here on Friday, Minister for Sericulture and Labour B N Bacchegowda said that following the Centre's decision to slash import duty on silk from 30 to five per cent and unabated smuggling of foreign silk into India from Nepal and Bangladesh has adversely affected silk farmers as well as traders.The state government's market intervention initiative of releasing over Rs17 crore to Karnataka Silk Marketing Board (KSMB) resulted in a slight increase in the prices of cocoons and raw silk, the minister said.