BENGALURU: KSR Bengaluru is all set to become the first railway station in the state to market the famed Channapatna toys. A stall to sell them will be rolled out from Friday (March 25) on a pilot basis and it will be trialed for a fortnight.
Channapatna toys are special wooden toys and dolls manufactured in Channapatna town in Ramanagara district of Karnataka and have the Geographical Indicator (GI) tag.
Chief Public Relations Officer, South Western Railway, Aneesh Hegde told TNIE, "This is being launched as part of 'One Station One Product Scheme' announced in the Union Budget 2022-23. It proposed the utilisation of railway stations as places to showcase iconic handicrafts, textiles and Geographical Indicator (GI) tagged products unique to a location."
The objective is to encourage local craftsmen and artisans to market their products more effectively. "Stations with huge footfalls like KSR Bengaluru are aptly suited for the marketing of such products," he added.
In future, SWR plans to implement this scheme in other stations that come under its jurisdiction in Karnataka and Goa.
The tender for operating the stall has been handed over to V Prakash, a toy maker from Channapatna.