<p>The Raja Tiles Factory which provided employment to hundreds of families for the last 60 years has been closed down. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Inspired from Mangalore tile factories started by Bassel Mission, V N Shankar, Nataraj and others started Raja Tiles in Kadur in 1960. <br /><br />“Owing to lack of support from the government, decline in the demand for tiles and shortage of raw materials, we are on the verge of closure,” said Manager Mohammed Ali. <br /><br />Chikmagalur district had three tile factories. They are Kadur Raj Tiles, Birur Rajkumar Tiles and Mugthihalli tile factory. However, all the three have stopped production. <br />Raj Tiles Factory is built on 14 acre by Nataraj Modaliyar. “The raw materials were available at cheaper rate. <br /><br />The red soil needed for the tiles was available at Kuppalina Kere, Devanakere, Birur, Vaddaraghatta, Channapura. The soil was purchased by paying a nominal royalty to the revenue department. To burn the tiles, wooden logs auctioned by the forest department were used in the past.” <br /><br />To produce 1,000 tiles, one requires 2,000 tonne red soil, 1,000 tonne fire wood. The factory was selling a tile for Re one between 1960 to 1985 and was fetching profit. However, with the increase in the tax, royalty and transportation cost, the tile was sold Rs 5.50. With the increase in production cost, the demand for tiles reduced. As a result, the tile factories began to shut down.<br /><br /> Kadur Raja Tiles was manufacturing three lakh tiles in a day,” said clerk R Nagaraju. Kadur tiles were supplied to Meeraj, Poona, Sathar, Jayasim in Maharashtra, Kajugooda, Mysore, Gundlupete, Raybagh, Dharwad, Bellary, Chitradurga, Hosapete and Davangere. <br /><br />“With the increase in demand for RCC houses, the demand for tiles have reduced,” he said. Aboobakar from Kerala has taken over the ownership of Raja tiles. The factory is being demolished and the land is converted into sites. The only tile factory of Kadur will become a history soon. <br /><br />The Gujarath government supplies free electricity for tile factories. At the same time, raw materials are supplied at cheaper rate.<br /><br /> However, in Karnataka no perks are given for tile factories. In Mangalore, the number of tile factories have come down to 15 from 48, say labourers. <br /></p>
<p>The Raja Tiles Factory which provided employment to hundreds of families for the last 60 years has been closed down. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Inspired from Mangalore tile factories started by Bassel Mission, V N Shankar, Nataraj and others started Raja Tiles in Kadur in 1960. <br /><br />“Owing to lack of support from the government, decline in the demand for tiles and shortage of raw materials, we are on the verge of closure,” said Manager Mohammed Ali. <br /><br />Chikmagalur district had three tile factories. They are Kadur Raj Tiles, Birur Rajkumar Tiles and Mugthihalli tile factory. However, all the three have stopped production. <br />Raj Tiles Factory is built on 14 acre by Nataraj Modaliyar. “The raw materials were available at cheaper rate. <br /><br />The red soil needed for the tiles was available at Kuppalina Kere, Devanakere, Birur, Vaddaraghatta, Channapura. The soil was purchased by paying a nominal royalty to the revenue department. To burn the tiles, wooden logs auctioned by the forest department were used in the past.” <br /><br />To produce 1,000 tiles, one requires 2,000 tonne red soil, 1,000 tonne fire wood. The factory was selling a tile for Re one between 1960 to 1985 and was fetching profit. However, with the increase in the tax, royalty and transportation cost, the tile was sold Rs 5.50. With the increase in production cost, the demand for tiles reduced. As a result, the tile factories began to shut down.<br /><br /> Kadur Raja Tiles was manufacturing three lakh tiles in a day,” said clerk R Nagaraju. Kadur tiles were supplied to Meeraj, Poona, Sathar, Jayasim in Maharashtra, Kajugooda, Mysore, Gundlupete, Raybagh, Dharwad, Bellary, Chitradurga, Hosapete and Davangere. <br /><br />“With the increase in demand for RCC houses, the demand for tiles have reduced,” he said. Aboobakar from Kerala has taken over the ownership of Raja tiles. The factory is being demolished and the land is converted into sites. The only tile factory of Kadur will become a history soon. <br /><br />The Gujarath government supplies free electricity for tile factories. At the same time, raw materials are supplied at cheaper rate.<br /><br /> However, in Karnataka no perks are given for tile factories. In Mangalore, the number of tile factories have come down to 15 from 48, say labourers. <br /></p>
