BHUBANESWAR: Weaver from Sonepur, Rasananda Meher, was felicitated with the National Handloom Award by Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar at New Delhi on Wednesday.
Instituted by the Ministry of Textiles, the award was conferred on the weaver for his outstanding contribution in handloom sector. For the award, Meher had woven a Sambalpuri Bandha (Ikat or tie and dye) saree which has motifs and information on the 17 products of Odisha that have received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag till 2022. While researcher Anita Sabat helped the weaver with the idea, the weaving guidance was provided by expert weaver Prafulla Meher.