Monumental charkha inaugurated at riverfront

AHMEDABAD: At the inauguration ceremony of a steel charkha on Tuesday in the city, BJP leaders staked claim on Mahatma Gandhi's legacy of charkha and khadi and said that over the past four years, the government has done more than its predecessors to revive the bequests.
BJP national president Amit Shah inaugurated the charkha in the presence of Union Minister Giriraj Singh and senior BJP leaders from the state. The charkha, which is 11 feet in height, 21 feet in length, and 6.5 feet in breadth, is made of chromium-nickel stainless steel and is installed on the Sabarmati Riverfront near Riverfront Park, right across the Sabarmati Ashram.

Shah in his speech said that those like him who wear khadi were worried about the fabric's future with many of the institutions attached to the work mired in corruption. "When Modiji became Guajarat's chief minister, he took up the task to revive it and appealed to the citizens to adopt it," said Shah. "We can see the result. Khadi, which was growing at about 6% annually in sales, has reported 133% jump in the past four years."

Shah said that from 2015 to 2017, 375 new Khadi Kendras have been established. Shah also spoke about the 'sweet revolution' of providing honey apiaries to about 5 lakh marginal farmers. "As Mahatma is associated with charkha, Modi will be associated with this scheme," he said.

Singh, MoS for MSME in the Government of India, said that the government is connecting charkha with solar power.

VK Saxena, the chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), said that the charkha will be spun by a motor from 7pm to 9pm every day. The tune in the background will be 'Vaishnav Jan'. "To mark the 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi next year, we are going to provide charkhas to all the jails where Mahatma had being incarcerated during our freedom struggle," he said.