Bhubaneswar : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced a special package for weavers severely affected by the ongoing covid pandemic.
Under the package 15,000 loom pit would be made concrete in phases in next three years at a
cost of Rs 7,000 per pit.
Official sources said out of the total 31,342 loom pit in the state so far 15,071 loom pit had
already been made concrete and the rest 15,000 would be made concrete in next three years.
The chief minister announced to provide House cum Work Shed to 3,000 weavers families on
priority. So far 11,695 house cum work shed had already been provided to the weavers.
Under the package light and fan would be provided to the farmers to help them work for a
longer period without any pressure on their eyes.
A decision has been taken to provide houses to eligible weaver families on priority. The
beneficiaries for the houses will be selected as per the guidelines of the Panchayati raj
department.
The Chief Minister announced to provide interest free loan up to Rs 50,000 to weavers
and directed officials to ensure that they avail the loan without any problem.
Arrangements would also be done to develop community infrastructure like godown, CFC,
and sale centres for the products of the weavers, the Chief Minister said.
Mr Patnaik announced the package for weavers as after agriculture handloom gives the
maximum jobs to people in rural areas. Lakhs of people depend on handloom.
Handloom produced in Odisha has a great demand but during the last two years the
handloom trade has been badly hit due to covid pandemic and the income of thousands
of weavers has been reduced.
