BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced a special package for the Covid pandemic-hit weavers of the state which includes the interest-free loan of Rs 50,000 and provision of house-cum-work shed for them.
Announcing the package, the Chief Minister said that 3,000 weavers families will be provided house-cum-work shed in the first phase. So far, house-cum-work sheds have been provided to 1,169 weavers' families.
The Chief Minister announced that the state government has decided to provide houses to weavers on a priority basis. The beneficiaries will be selected for this as per the guidelines of the Panchayati raj department, he added.
Stating that designing is a difficult process, the Chief Minister said that electricity and fans will be provided to the weavers so that there is not much pressure on their eyes while working and they can work for a longer period.
He said that the state government will ensure that the weavers get hassle-free loans.
As per the package, 15,000 loom pits will be concretised in a phased manner during the next three years at a cost of Rs 7,000 each. Out of the 31,342 loom pits in the state, 15,071 loom pits have been concretised.
Various community infrastructure such as CFCs, warehouses, and sales centres will be set up through the Panchayati Raj department to store the produce of the weavers, he added.
The Chief Minister said that the handloom sector has been severely affected during the last one and a half years due to the pandemic. The livelihood of thousands of weavers has also been affected because of this, he said and added that this has impacted their income severely.
Stating that over a lakh people depend on the handloom sector for their livelihood, he said that after agriculture, the handloom gives employment to a large number of people in rural areas. Besides, weavers also play an important role in spreading the culture of Odisha throughout the world through their work.