Bamboo crafts centre coming up in Satna

A centre for training in bamboo crafts is taking shape in the Pagarkala village of the Satna district. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned the centre, proposed by the Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodyog Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot.

The Vishwavidyalaya proposed the centre by launching a programme on March 19, 2002, at Village Pagarkala. It has completed the construction work at the centre and has initiated training to craftsmen. It has sought further assistance from Nabard so that it could extend the project for another two and a half years, till 2007.

The objective of the project is imparting training by master craftsmen to 100 rural youth in bamboo crafts over three years.

The Vishwavidyalaya has sought a grant Rs 7.725 lakh for this and Nabard has approved it.

The university was recently facing some problems, due to which the project, which was started with a grant of Rs 85,000, got delayed.

"The building for training and advance facilities has already been completed and the university has acquired the training equipment. Also, it has got the first batch of 20 craftsmen trained by a master trainer in April. Nabard has extended the project by two and a half years," a Nabard source said.

The university, Nabard has said, may take support from the Rajiv Gandhi literacy mission and make arrangements with the forest department for raw materials.

This will be the first training and advance facility centre in the state.

Craftsmen of the state make bamboo baskets and other products but their wares are sold locally, fetching them hardly Rs 40"�50 a day.