Nitish Kumar inaugurates India's first Khadi Mall in Patna

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Tuesday inaugurated country’s first Khadi Mall in the state capital by cutting the ceremonial ribbon.
The four-storeyed mall, which is the biggest store of Khadi items in the country, is located on the eastern side of the historic Gandhi Maidan near the state government’s Udyog Bhavan.

Soon after entering the mall, the CM garlanded Mahatma Gandhi’s life-size statue located on the ground floor.He also paid his respect for the Father of the Nation.
Accompanied by state’s industries minister Shyam Rajak and the industries’ secretary Narmdeshwar Lal, the CM visited different counters of the mall on the ground, first and the second floor and inspected the quality of certain khadi clothes, handicraft items and Madhubani paintings. He also inquired about certain food products and village industries’ produces which were put up for sale.

“At one counter, the CM inspected the quality of famous ‘Katiya-to-Katiya’ tasar silk, which is weaved in Bihar’s Bhagalpur region. He was very much impressed by the quality of our tasar silk,” Braj Nandan Prasad, chief executive officer of the Bihar State Khadi and Village Industries Board, told TOI.
While the CM was moving from one to other counter, the industries minister requested him for providing his measurement for a ‘bandi’ (jacket). To which, the CM agreed and a tailor on another counter was asked to take his measurement for ‘bandi’.

“I just casually requested the CM for his measurement for a bandi and he agreed. So we took his measurement,” Rajak told TOI.

“I feel this Khadi Mall is very useful for common people and it will become popular soon. I saw several items here and gave certain suggestions to the officers. Several items of daily uses are also available here. Besides the machine-stitched clothes, several types of handicraft are available here. Their quality is also good. This mall has its own uniqueness,” Nitish told reporters soon after visiting entire areas in the mall.

Nitish further thanked his industries minister, saying, “Shyam Rajak and his department have done commendable work.”
“Several items at the mall have been prepared keeping in mind the demands of the people and I hope people will like them and buy them,” the CM said.

Prasad said, the mall saw a large number of footfall on its opening day. Soon after inauguration, a large number of people came to the mall and purchased different items.