INVC NEWS
Raipur,
Khadi has always been a symbol of Traditional Indian Craftsmanship unique to our country. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, while addressing the Weavers and Craftsman of Chhattisgarh present in Chhattisgarh Haat, said that Khadi is not just a piece of cloth but it’s a school of thought. The Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi used Khadi as a symbol of Self Reliance and a weapon of freedom struggle. Mahatma Gandhi envisioned Gram Swaraj to promote and conserve locally made hand-made products that could be sold everywhere, he wanted our villages to be strong and sustainable in every way. Walking on the same path of Self Reliance,We are also improving the skills of our artisans, weavers, craftsmen and providing them proper training and product selling platforms like C-Mart to support rural craftsmanship. Let every village be a producer and cities as consumers of such traditionally made high-quality products. He further said that it is our endeavour to make our villages economically viable and self-reliant. The Chief Minister addressed his views in a gathering of Weavers, Craftsmen and visitors present in the 10-day state-level Khadi and Village Industries Exhibition organised at Chhattisgarh Haat Bazar,Pandri. The Chief Minister honoured Chhattisgarh’s weavers and craftsmen who have done excellent work in their respective craft.
The Chief Minister said that as per the vision of Mahatma Gandhi, the Suraji Gaon Yojana was implemented in Chhattisgarh to realise the vision of ‘Gram Swaraj’. Under this scheme, village to village Gauthans are being constructed and developed as Rural Industrial Parks. He said that weavers, craftsmen and artisans are being given better employment opportunities by setting up such small enterprises in rural industrial parks. Their work is being refined and they are being trained to produce quality goods as per market demand. For this, a provision of Rs 600 crore has been made in the budget from which water and electricity will be arranged here first. He said that traders should provide raw materials to the artisans here. Those working here will be given training by the government. The artisans will prepare goods according to the design of the trader with the Raw materials provided. This will help conserve our traditional occupational practices and provide employment to the people of the state to make them financially secure.
The Chief Minister said that Mukhyamantri Silk Project has been started in the state this year. Under this scheme, one thousand women will be identified and trained in cocoon threading. Women working here will earn 6 to 7 thousand rupees per month from this work. He said that Rally Cocoon Bank would be set up to take forward the silk project in the coming financial year. Initially, 200 self-help groups will be assigned the task by giving training in threading. Mr. Baghel further said that approval has been given for the construction of more than 10 thousand 500 Gauthans in the state which will also act as Rural Industrial Parks, out of which construction of more than 8 thousand 500 has been completed.
Village Industries Minister Guru Rudra Kumar, Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Board Shri Rajendra Tiwari, Advisor to Chief Minister Shri Pradeep Sharma also addressed the program. On this occasion MLA Mr. Satyanarayan Sharma, Mr. Kuldeep Juneja, Mayor Mr. Ejaz Dhebar, Chairman Minorities Commission Mr. Mahendra Chhabra, Chairman Raipur Development Authority Mr. Subhash Dhuppad,President of Matikala Board Shri Balam Chakradhari, Principal Secretary Village Industries Dr. Alok Shukla, Managing Director Khadi and Village Industries Board Smt. Rekha Shukla and members of Khadi Commission and other public representatives and a large number of people were also present.
