Rural handicrafts village awaits funds release

Tirupati: The rural handicrafts village sanctioned by the Ministry of Textiles of Government of India with an estimated outlay of Rs 9.55 crore during the 2016-17 fiscal is yet to receive the second instalment funds even after six years. It was proposed to set up this crafts village at Srikalahasti of Tirupati Parliamentary constituency. The Ministry has released the 50 per cent funds of Rs 4.77 crore so far to the DRDA, Chittoor while the second instalment is pending.

The idea of setting up of this village was to give a big boost to the handicrafts of Kalamkari and woodcarving made in Srikalahasti which have earned global reputation. The works were delayed due to the Covid pandemic after which the R&B officials have completed the tender process and started construction works. This village will provide a platform for the artisans to make their products, to get trained on latest techniques and an emporium to sell their items. The woodcarvings and Kalamkari work of the artisans in this area are known for their beauty and quality and the artisans have won many accolades which bagged them even national awards.

They make items worth Rs 150 to even Rs 10 lakh and more but could not market them on their own and were seeking government's cooperation for long to keep the art form alive. The proposed project will help them in this direction. Also, it was proposed to set up a training centre there to train 50-60 artisans at a time. With a view to speed up the works, Tirupati MP Dr M Gurumoorthy sought for the release of second instalment funds in the Lok Sabha on Friday. He took to the notice of the House that rural artisans are in much hardship to eke out their livelihood and will be benefited if this project is completed by the end of this year.

The Craft Village has been delayed by issues like selection of land and unavailability of construction labourers in Covid-19 pandemic to take up the construction works. The Executive Engineer, R&B, Tirupati has already submitted a work performance progress report to the DRDA, Chittoor stating that so far Rs 5.16 crore works were completed. The MP requested the Minister for Textiles to sanction the second instalment amount by extending the period for the completion of the craft village which will be beneficial for the livelihood of people depending on handicrafts.