PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
With support from the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), 300 women from Raipur block in Dehradun have produced and sold over one lakh LED string light packets ahead of Deepawali. Under the Mukhyamantri Sashakt Bahna Utsav Yojana, each packet contains ten 12-foot LED strings and women are earning an income of Rs 100 to Rs 150 per packet.
The Dehradun chief development officer Abhinav Shah said that this initiative is part of the Vocal for Local campaign promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to encourage the use of locally made products. The women’s groups are producing these LED lights as decorative alternatives to imported items and are selling them in local markets at prices ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 per packet.
He informed that NRLM has provided financial support to these women through a community investment fund of Rs12 lakh at six per cent interest and a cooperative loan of Rs five lakh at zero per cent interest. With this assistance, the SHGs under Thano Nyay Panchayat have achieved their target of producing 1.2 lakh LED packets, he said.
Shah stated that the administration has been encouraging rural women to join NRLM and strengthen their livelihoods through the production of local items. The women involved in this initiative are also managing their own packaging and marketing efforts. The president of the Divya Jyoti Self-Help Group, Mamta Kothiyal said that the scheme has provided new earning opportunities for rural women.
She said that the group received the target of making 1.2 lakh LED lights and has completed the work successfully. Shah said that LED light production is being carried out at the Vibrant Growth Centre in Raipur block. Stalls are being set up at different locations to help these women reach potential buyers and become self-reliant, he added.
