CUTTACK: The Maniabandha weavers have opposed the Cuttack district administration’s decision to set up the Maniabandha Buddhist Handloom Village Tourism Centre at Abhimanpur, demanding its establishment at Maniabandha itself.
Sources said Abhimanpur is located around 3 km away from Maniabandha. The local weavers, under the aegis of Maniabandha Handloom Cluster Consortium (MAHACC), submitted a memorandum to commissioner-cum-secretary, Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts department Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar during her visit to Maniabandha on Friday.
During discussion with Kumar, they pointed out that of over 1,200 weaver families residing in Maniabandha at present, around 500 families follow Buddhism whereas only eight to 10 of the total 300 families in Abhimanpur follow the said religion. If the centre is established at Maniabandha instead of Abhimanpur, then more Buddhist tourists will be attracted to the village and this will boost the economic development of the handloom sector in the area, they said.
“Though a government land had been identified near Maniabandha Buddha Vihar along state highway-65 in February last year for establishment of the tourism centre, director, Textiles & Handlooms Prem Chandra Choudhury and assistant director, Textiles, Athagarh Jayaprakash Narayan Biswal are conspiring to set up the centre at Abhimanpur, a non-Buddhist village,” alleged MAHACC secretary Arakhita Swain.
Cuttack collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde, who was also present at the spot, reportedly asserted that the tourism centre would be set up in Abhimanpur.
Expressing discontentment over the collector’s remarks, Swain told this newspaper, “Shinde does not know anything about the history of Maniabandha and its cultural heritage. His ignorance is fuelling his adamance for setting up the tourism centre at Abhimanpur.”
After according Craft and Weavers village status to Maniabandha in 2018, the Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts department had in 2021 initiated steps for establishment of Maniabandha Buddhist Handloom Village Tourism Centre with an estimated cost of `2.85 crore aimed at integrating Maniabandha’s century-old handloom legacy with tourism.
As per the plan, the centre was to be set up over 6,000 sq ft area in the village with a state-of-the-art common facility centre, a demonstration and apparel training centre to be managed by Apparel Training & Design Centre (ATDC)-India, tourism amenities like cafeteria, toilets, rest sheds and a mini museum showcasing Buddhist culture and handloom heritage of Maniabandha.