Bengaluru: The state sericulture department is gearing up to establish three dedicated silk reeling parks to boost installation of automatic reeling machines (ARMs) and has pencilled in Sidlaghatta in Chikkaballapur district, Ramanagara, and Kollegal in Chamarajanagar district as ideal locations. Officials estimate each park would require a minimum of 50 acres of land.
Karnataka remains the leading silk producer in the country, churning out 13,276 tonnes of raw silk in 2024-25. With the establishment of these parks, the sericulture department aims to modernise the silk industry, increase production efficiency, and create better market opportunities for sericulturists.

“We will establish these parks based on funds and support from the central govt,” said MB Rajesh Gowda, commissioner, sericulture development.
The traditional process of extracting silk involved manually operated machines and boiling silkworm cocoons to extract threads. These were then supplied to textile industries for production of saris and other garments. However, the process has severe shortcomings.
A department official said an average of 1,200 metres of silk filament is extracted from a single cocoon. “But the traditional process of boiling cocoons gave off a bad smell in the entire area. There are no such issues with ARMs,” the official said. “However, ARM units need space for machinery and many farmers face land problems. So, to solve the land issue, the state is planning to establish exclusive parks.”
Officials say an ARM with a 400-end capacity (able to handle 400 silk filaments simultaneously) requires at least 12,000 square feet of space. The total cost of machinery and installation is estimated at Rs 1 crore, with the govt offering subsidies of up to Rs 70 lakh (70%) for general category beneficiaries and up to Rs 90 lakh (90%) for SC and ST individuals.
Despite financial support, land acquisition has been a major hurdle. Through exclusive parks, the govt intends to provide land to interested parties. “If all goes to plan, we will initially establish parks at Sidlaghatta and Ramanagar, followed by Kollegal. If there are many ARM units, demand for cocoons will be high, and sericulturists will get good prices,” the official said.