The Indian Railways intends to provide stalls at Howrah station for the sale and promotion of handloom 'taant' saris and other handloom textile products sourced from local manufacturers to improve their skills and livelihood.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, on Wednesday, Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that this is being done under the ‘One Station, One Product’ concept that aims to encourage indigenous and specialised products and crafts of India by providing display and sale outlets on railway stations across the country.
From the Eastern Railway zone, only the Howrah station from West Bengal has been chosen for this initiative.
The minister further noted the products would be specific to that place and could include artefacts made by indigenous tribes, handlooms by local weavers, handicrafts like world-famous wood carving, chikankari and zari-zardozi work on clothes, or spices tea, coffee and other processed/semi-processed food items/products indigenously grown in the area.
"A pilot project was launched on March 25, 2022, in each railway zone. One product indigenous to the respective locality/region has been identified and it is envisaged to allot space on the station for sale of the product," he said.
Some of the other stations identified for this purpose include Bihar's Patna junction where Madhubani paintings and related products will be showcased, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh where locally made wooden toys called Etikoppaka will be displayed and sold, and Odisha's Balasore has been chosen for promoting coconut mat products.
