Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced a special package for the weavers in the State.
After agriculture, handlooms are the main source of employment for the rural population in the State.
Lakhs of people in the State are now depended on handlooms. Weavers have been, through their skills, presenting the great cultural traditions of Odisha through handlooms all over the world and there is also a special demand for handlooms made in Odisha.
But in the last two years, the handloom industry has been severely affected by the Covid epidemic and the livelihoods of thousands of weavers have also declined.
In this package, the 15,000 loom pits that are not concrete will be concreted in the next three years. Rs 7000 will be spent towards each loom pit. It is worthwhile to mention that, out of 31,342 loom pits in the State, 15,071 have so far been concreted.
Similarly, 3,000 weaver families will be provided with House-cum-Work shed on a priority basis under the Chief Minister’s special package. To date, 11695 House-cum-Work sheds have been provided to weaver families.
Family members are also involved in the production process of the textile and cottage industries. Similarly, design preparation is a complex process. So under the scheme, the weavers will be provided with electricity and electrical fans so that there is no pressure on them and they can work for a long time.
It has also been decided to provide housing to all eligible weaver families on a priority basis. The beneficiaries will be selected according to the guidelines of the Panchayati Raj Department.
The package also focuses on how weavers can access to loans. The Chief Minister has directed to provide interest-free loans of up to Rs 50,000 to the weavers.
Further, various group infrastructure such as CFCs, warehouses, and sales centers will be set up through the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department to store the produce of the weavers.
Kalinga AI