Jewellary Park near Machilipatnam

A rolled gold jewellery park will come up at Pothepalli near Machilipatnam. Nearly 250 units will be established in the park proposed to be developed in 42 acres. Laying of roads, levelling of site and construction of compound wall are in progress.

The park is being established by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and industries minister J. Geeta Reddy will lay foundation stone for the park on December 16. Minister for rural water supply P. Venkateswara Rao, MP B. Ramakrishna, besides district officials, will participate in the function.

The project will be completed in 18 months and the land was allotted adjacent to Autonagar in Machilipatnam. Tenders for the laying of the road at an estimated cost of Rs 1.5 crore were invited, while Rs 2.40 crore have been allocated for power lines and other equipment and Rs. 1.45 crore for drinking water facility. An amount of Rs 5 crore were allocated for internal roads and development of other amenities at the park.

Machilipatnam and its surrounding areas are popular for the rolled gold industry where hundreds of families get livelihood through the industry and the government was keen on supporting the artisans by providing all facilities. The park is aimed at supporting the artisans to produce articles in a big way. The articles are in good demand and will be marketed in other States.

Also, there was a demand for shifting of the rolled gold manufacturing units from the habitations as they were causing air and water pollution due to the chemicals used in gold and nickel coating of ornaments. The pollution is causing inconvenience and illness to locals.

The proposal to shift the industry to the outskirts was pending since 1980 and the Machilipatnam Imitation Jewellery Park Society was set up to realise the park. Local MLA P. Venkataramaiah visited the site on Saturday night during his stay at a social welfare hostel in Pothepalli. District collector Navin Mittal said that works of the rolled gold jewellery park were expedited with a view to provide a suitable and encouraging atmosphere to the artisans.