Hopes and aspirations at a small town fair

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Vidya Bhushan Arora | 21 Feb, 2011
After acquiring a spacious shop to showcase his handmade footwear, Ashok Chawade is a happy micro entrepreneur today. With the help of a loan of Rs. One Lakh from the National Scheduled Castes Finance Development Corporation (NSCFDC) which he had taken six years back, Chawade has taken a bigger, more spacious shop and has also bought a new 'Raapi' machine to trim leather more efficiently. This has helped him a great deal in making many more pieces of footwear than ever before. What is more satisfying for him is that he got the loan from NSCFDC on very easy terms which he has to return in twenty years.

Ashok, who is intermediate pass belongs to Ramtek, a tiny but picturesque town of Nagpur district in Maharashtra State with a population of less than half a lakh and with a modest flow of tourists who throng various temples situated in the town. "The town has lot of tourist potential if properly tapped," Chawade contends while contemplating on ways to expand his business. He makes footwear for a large clientele as his shoes range from Rs. 100 to Rs. 600.

Ashok Chawade was displaying his products at a stall put up at Public Information Campaign site at Ramtek organized by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to showcase the developmental schemes being executed under the Bharat Nirman. Giving him company were scores of other beneficiaries of various central schemes being implemented either through the State Government or by the apex bodies of the concerned union ministries.

For instance, a woman entrepreneur from Nagardham, another small town near Nagpur had sold all the leather bags she brought to this three-day Fair for display within the first few hours of the beginning of the Fair. Now she was doing brisk business in bags made of tarpaulin or other materials.

Karuna Ananta Paunikar, very confidently insisted on using her full name when told that she would be written about. She is a member of Rani Laxmi Mahila Bachat Gut of Nagardhan, a group formed under the Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgaar Yojna which is an integrated programme for self-employment of the rural poor with the objective of bringing the poor families above the poverty line by organising them into Self Help Groups (SHGs). Karuna got to know about the scheme through the âSahyoginiâ of the Panchayat Samiti Nanda Khadse who encouraged her to join the self-help group and start her own enterprise. A diffident Karuna, on much prodding by her mentor, took a small loan of Rs. 10,000/- and started making small items like washing powder, phenyl etc. Soon she realized the potential of her small enterprise and expanded her product range by taking an additional loan of Rs. 60,000/-. She set up a small unit for making a variety of bags and now employs eight to ten women on contractual basis to make bags and other products. Though she had her husband by her side at the stall, but it was clearly Karuna who was calling the shots.

However, another participant Renuka Bidkar is very different from Ashok Chawade and Karuna Ananta Paunikar. 39-year old Renuka is post-polio paralysis affected person and needs a wheel-chair to move. But she did not allow her disability to deter her in any way rather it steeled her resolve to accept bigger challenges in life and succeed in business. She took a small loan from the National Handicapped Financial Development Corporation (NHFDC) and started making candles, incense sticks (Aggarbattis), chalk, liquid soap, soft toys etc. Soon Renuka repaid the loan and expanded her enterprise by deploying more people and producing a bigger range of items. She makes it a point to give employment to people with disabilities in her enterprise as far as possible. Renuka now also runs an organization which works for the uplift of persons with disabilities and helps them getting jobs or mentors them for taking up self-employment. âNow the larger objective of my life is to help and guide those persons with disabilities who do not have means and resources to meet their basic needs and they need jobs to lead a dignified lifeâ, Renuka says with a sense of conviction.

Deepak Warkade was not a casual visitor to this Fair. He came here to explore the possibilities of any assistance he could get to start his career nearer home. Recently, he had given up a job of Rs. 4000 per month because this job took him hundreds of miles away to a Madhya Pradesh town from his home in Ramtek. Deepak also seemed somewhat dejected because he failed to get admission in the state sponsored professional courses against ST quota for want of domicile certificate though he claimed to possess a caste certificate. âGetting domicile certificate is a tedious jobâ, he laments and then proceeds to the Stalls where he wants to get information on eligibility for loans or for getting professional training. Deepak seemed somewhat unconvinced when told that he would not need any âsifaarishâ (recommendation) to get career guidance at this Campaign but perhaps he returned satisfied after making enquiries at some stalls.

The Auxiliary Production Centre of the Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO) had also set up a Stall there and its technicians were guiding and counseling the persons with disabilities or their guardians about the fitment of artificial limbs. R.S. Das, the Prosthetic & Orthotic Engineer was there to make a professional assessment of the problems of the needy persons with disabilities and give them the advice as per their requirements.

The participants from various Governmental bodies including the Banks, who were at the campaign site to give information about developmental schemes under Bharat Nirman or other programmes, seemed very involved in discussions with the visitors to their stalls and were seen explaining the procedures etc in detail with great enthusiasm. The visitors were also seen collecting the information brochures zestfully from the Stalls to read and understand at their leisure. The whole atmosphere seemed to be charged with enthusiasm and hope. One would like that these hopes and aspirations of the poor are fulfilled and they are empowered adequately to join the march with those who represent the emerging India.

(PIB Features)
* The Author is the Deputy Director (M&C), Press Information Bureau, New Delhi.
* The Author Visited the Public Information Campaign held at Ramtek in Maharashtra.
* The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of SME Times.