Rural Industrial Parks are bestowing a new identity to rural skills
Raipur. The Chhattisgarh Government’s ambitious Rural Industrial Park scheme has built a strong infrastructure in rural areas for promoting small-scale industries. This has transformed the state of development in rural areas. RIPA has emerged as a prominent center of business and industrial development for the villagers. Young rural entrepreneurs are reaping its benefits, resulting in economic and rural development.
Villagers have received better opportunities for livelihood from the RIPA established in Chirra village in the Korba development block. Processing units for wheat, gram, turmeric, spices, and manufacturing units for pickles, Dona Pattal, sandal, cow dung paint, paver block, and fly ash bricks have been established. Women and small entrepreneurs are rediscovering their skills by working in RIPA.
Earlier, the enterprising women of the village who were engaged in farming, daily wage labour, and domestic work did not have any additional means of livelihood to fulfill their daily needs. Now, with the establishment of the Rural Industrial Park in the village, they have received better employment in their own village. The members of Chandramukhi Group are manufacturing good-quality fly ash bricks in the Rural Industrial Park at Chirra. Along with the women, other villagers have also received employment through the fly-ash brick unit. The youth and women are engaging in brick manufacturing work and are producing about 4 to 5 thousand pieces of bricks daily. People in the surrounding villages are ordering bricks from the group as per their requirements.
Villagers of Kudmura, Taulipali, Simkenda, Gurma, located adjacent to Chirra, have placed orders for more than 70,000 fly ash bricks so far, the sale of which will earn the group an income of more than Rs. 2 lakh. The amount will be used for the construction of government buildings. The women of the group said that there is a huge demand for their bricks in government and private construction work. The sale of these bricks will generate an appreciable income for the women, making them financially independent. They said that the Amaldiha Panchayat has purchased 20,000 fly ash bricks, securing them an income of Rs. 60,000. The women of the manufacturer group obtained the order on account of their own efforts. Because of the good demand for brick making, there is a wave of confidence among the women and youth who are enthusiastically engaged in the work of brick manufacturing.
