Union minister for transport Nitin Gadkari held meeting with industrialists across the state at divisional commissioner’s office late Friday night to review the steps required to be taken into activate setting up of textile mills in Vidarbha region.

National Textile Corporation chairman Premchandra Vaishya, Addl chief secretary (textile) Sunil Porwal were present at the meeting along with industrialists and local MLAs.

He urged the industrialists to step forward to set up textile mills in cotton-rich Vidarbha region to help government arrest farmers' suicides and create employment for the unemployed.

Gadkari requested the industrialists to send a proposal to the Centre through the state government regarding the concessions and facilities they expected from the government for setting up textile mills in the region.

Gadkari assured the industrialists that the state and Centre would definitely make attempts to solve their problems like plots in MIDCs, electricity, water, roads and other facilities. He impressed upon the industrialists the need of providing employment to the locals and asked them to suggest the kind of training required to be provided to them so that such training could be arranged for the unemployed.

In the coming days the stress will be on establishing processing units at various places in Vidarbha. Also, priority is to set up textile industries in cotton belts of Vidarbha and Marathwada. One of the units will begin in Nandgaon within 15 days. Thereafter, eight textile units will be set up in Yavatmal and other districts soon.