Government will buy products made by women under Kayaka, says CM

BELAGAVI: The state government has planned to buy products manufactured by women self-help groups on behalf of the government under the Kayaka scheme, said chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.
He spoke after inaugurating Kayaka scheme and distributing cheques to beneficiaries of Badavara Bandhu scheme at Dharmanath Bhavan here on Thursday. Under Kayaka scheme, women self-help groups would be trained on manufacturing and selling various products, he added.

The chief minister said Kayaka and Badavara Bandhu schemes were introduced to help small entrepreneurs run their businesses and become self-reliant. Badavara Bandhu scheme will be carried to all 4.5 lakh road side vendors in the state in the coming days, he added.

Kumaraswamy alleged that opposition leaders were misleading people on the farm loan waiver issue and urged people to not to them.

“I have a challenge of waiving farm loans to the tune of Rs 46,000 crore which is a model to the entire country. Officers of centre and other states are visiting the state to get information and study our loan waiver model. I have an aim of making farmers free from debt and encourage them to take up advanced farming which takes time,” he said.

Not neglecting NK

Refuting allegations that the state government was neglecting North Karnataka, the CM said that Rs 29,000 crore in farm loans to be waived was from the 12 districts of North Karnataka. “I don’t discriminate between south and north”, he clarified.

Cooperative minister Bandeppa Kashempur said the government was aiming at selling the products from women self-help groups in not just local markets but in international airports too. “Both the schemes have been introduced to protect small vendors from the clutches of money lenders who charge exorbitant interest and to encourage women’s groups,” he added.