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The army is trying to reach out to the people in the Valley by giving them a livelihood
A sprawling hall with several looms has been given pride of place at its Srinagar regiment centre. The project was conceived to generate employment for retiring jawans but many local unemployed youth, who have the skills but not the means, are benefiting from the programme. Seventy-five young men of Badgaon have so far been trained in carpet-weaving.
While many of the artisans report every morning for work and return home at the end of the day, 20 of them live and work at the centre. Each is paid a salary of Rs 3,000 a month plus meals. In addition, 40 village women have been provided employment at home for embroidering salwar suits and shawls. The army provides the raw material and gives them a percentage from the sales.
It takes three weavers four months to produce a 9 by 6 feet carpet which puts the basic manufacturing cost at Rs 36,000. In addition, there is the cost of the raw materials. In fact, the commandant is keen to increase the monthly wages of the weavers but it may take some time. However, he’s quick to point out that the carpet making unit is not a business venture but a purely welfare measure.
Says Mohammed Maqbool, 26, who has been with the centre for two years. "For six years I was unemployed. My family was too poor to buy yarn or a loom." He was one of the two men sent for training in carpet design to the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology in Bhadohi, UP. "I’m still too poor to have my own shop but that is my ultimate dream," says Maqbool. The JKLI has brought him a step closer to achieving his dream.
Contact Commandant: JKLI Regimental Centre, Srinagar. Tel: 0194-2300257, 2300760. Email:shaktiprashad1@rediffmail.com