Saras Mela in Dhanbad
In a first, the Jharkhand government has set up a ‘Saras Mela’ in Dhanbad as a platform for products made by women artisans in the state. More than 25 states are participating in the event which started on September 28 and is slated to go on till October 7. The event showcases more than 212 hand-made products made indigenously by individual artisans and those who work in Self-Help Groups (SHGs). These include handlooms, silk, honey, spices and pickles. Member of Parliament from Dhanbad, PN Singh, inaugurated the event. “The Mela has been organised to provide a market for products made by women attached to SHGs in the state in order to provide them with a common platform to showcase their products and sell them at reasonable prices,” said Singh. Several cultural programmes are also being organised at the event which will showcase folk arts of different states and help increase the awareness about such dance and art forms, he added. The products being showcased also include folk art which is very specialised to specific regions like tribal jewellery from the state, Kashmiri shawls, Madhubani Paintings of Bihar, crafts from Uttar Pradesh.
‘Tejaswini’ for safety of women on trains
The women’s wing of the Railway Police Force in Ranchi Railway Division has created a WhatsApp group called ‘Tejaswini’ for women’s security in trains and railway stations. Women who frequently travel by train and Railways employees can get admitted to the group by calling on a Helpline number (182). Maheshwar Singh, security commissioner of the division told TNIE that more than 80 women have so far asked to be added to the group. “Those women who travel regularly in trains can share any problems related to security which will be addressed immediately,” said Singh. A separate wing comprising 29 women personnel of the RPF has also been formed to create security-related awareness among women passengers.
Animals to be brought to only one slaughterhouse
The Ranchi Municipal Corporation has mandated that from October 18, more than 600 meat shop owners in their zone will have to get their animals slaughtered at the ultra-modern slaughterhouse set up in Kanke. Only those owners who comply with the new rule will be allowed to sell meat in their shops. According to the notice, any owners found in violation of the rule will face a fine of `2,000 and their stock of meat will be seized. The municipal corporation has also called a meeting of meat shop owners in the city to inform them about the process to follow for getting their animals cut and transported to their shops. The corporation has also set up meat shops at five different locations in the city, from where meat shop owners can purchase processed meat to sell in their shops.
Ranchi airport to discontinue round-the-clock service
Authorities at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi have decided to discontinue 24-hour operation and resume the old timings of 8am-9pm service from October 27. Round-the-clock service was started at the airport on March 25 to enable operation of international flights. The decision to start 24-hour service was taken as the number of passengers served at the airport crossed the one million mark in April 2017 which was a 44% increase from the previous year. Authorities running the airport claimed that several airline companies were approached for operating night flights out of the airport and August 31 was the deadline for them to respond to the proposal. However none of the airlines approached were willing to run night operations. This resulted in a massive loss to the airport authorities following which, it was finally decided to discontinue 24-hour operation at the airport.
Mukesh Ranjan
Our correspondent in Jharkhand
mukesh.r@newindianexpress.com