Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena visits Biraja Handloom Producer Company Ltd. of Jajpur

By Kalinga Voice Last updated Jun 16, 2023

Interacted with the weavers of Gopalpur and Chaka gopalpur villages
State Government is extending all possible support the weaver community fully self-reliant

Bhubaneswar(Kalinga Voice): Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena visited Gopalpur and Chaka gopalpur villages of Jajpur district on dt.14.06.2023, Wednesday.

During his visit the Chief Secretary held discussions with the members of the Biraja Handloom Producer Company Ltd. which is run by the local Netaji Yuvak Sangh, with NABARD assistance and members’ shares. Enquiring about the different weaving activities, the Chief Secretary had a detail discussion with the District Collector, Jajpur Shri Chakravarti Singh Rathore about its further development, as the members of the company requiring.

Gopalpur in Jajpur district has long been known as a tussar weaving centre in the State. For many years, about 2,000 weavers from around 300 families here have been maintaining their families by making handloom collective products such as sarees, shawls, kurttas, lungis, bedsheets, dhotis and a variety of textiles made of tussar yarn. Ikkat Kumbh border and smooth border sarees, among other textiles, are highly attractive because they are woven using traditional techniques and the ikkat weaving method with pure tussar and‘ahimsa thread’.

District Collector Shri Rathore briefed the Chief Secretary on how to develop the weavers’ collective art of the tussar handloom, as well as how to progress a marketing sector by using modern machinery to produce more products in less time and at a lower cost, and how to supply tussar to Sukinda’stussar production centre.

The project was first launched in September 2021-22. At present, the company comprises 350 members and NABARD has provided a financial grant of Rs 50 lakh. The company has trained 150 people in various types of training such as painting, design cutting, sewing, yakad and jabbi, out of which 10 best trainees are currently engaged in this project.

In order to strengthen the Biraja Handloom Manufacturing Company, the District Collector emphasized on the need to meet the shortage of tussar, marketing system andincrease its scope through Community Support Centre.Chief General Manager, NABARD Shri Udaya Bhaskar briefed about various aspects of the project and how NABARD is working towards promoting this handloom industry.

Chief Secretary Shri Jena expressed satisfaction over the work of tussar industry at Gopalpur and Chakagopalpur and said that the State Government would extend all possible support to make the weavers of both the villages fully self-reliant.

The Chief Secretary also congratulated the weavers for making the handloom industry of Jajpur district very famous. He advised NABARD functionaries and district Collector to impart handloom training in Surat of Gujuratand Assam to make theindustry more and more familiar.

Superintendent of Police,Jajpur Shri Vinit Agarwal, DGM, NABARD Shri Kamal Patnaik, Secretary of the Handloom Company ShriBiswambar Sahu, Coordinator Smt. Binapani Mangala, BDO, Rasulpur and other officials were also present during the visit.