Mysuru, June 19 -- For 59-year-old Bhagya, a long-cherished dream finally came true after spending three decades producing the world-famous Mysore Silk sarees. The Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) employee from T Narasipura, who has worked at the silk filature unit for nearly 30 years, recently purchased her first-ever Mysore Silk saree, an achievement she describes as one of the happiest moments of her life.

The opportunity came after KSIC offered Mysore Silk sarees to its employees at concessional rates. The initiative was introduced to honour workers who recently fought to protect the T Narasipura silk unit from losing its land to a proposed sports stadium project.

Earlier, the state government had ordered the transfer of...