Facility Common Center | 30 Nov 2022

Why In News?

• On November 29, 2022, Jharkhand Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto said that under the SFURTI Scheme of the Central Government, a facility common center will be set up at Bhendra in Bokaro in the state at a cost of about Rs 2 crore, for which 50 decimal land has been identified in Bhendra.

Key Points

• Minister Jagarnath Mahato informed that work is going on to develop the cottage industry of Bhendra, the iron city of the state. For this, the team led by Dr. Akanksha Sinha, CEO of Atal Community Innovation Center of IIT ISM Dhanbad has prepared the project.
• It is known that Bhendra is called Sheffield of Jharkhand. Dr. Akanksha Sinha said that if Bhendra gets a trademark, it will be recognized in the national and international markets.
• He said that the team of IIT has prepared a project after surveying Bhendra village for a month, in which there is a plan to develop this industry by modernizing the traditional technology.
• It is known that weapons were made for his army from the time of Sher Shah in Bhendra and even today, Sword, Spear, Dagger, Farsa, Axe, Hasia, Hammer, Knife, Baisuli, Spade etc. are made with traditional technique. These tools are made by beating the hammer after heating the iron on coal. This work is done in about 200 houses of the village, in which about 150 artisans and 300 laborers make iron material every day without protection and they do not even get proper wages.
• For the facility common center to be built in Bhendra, skilled artisans there will be trained and taught the art of making iron materials with modern technology, which will be able to make better goods at a low cost. Apart from this, artisans and laborers will also be protected.
• The facility common centre will have water supply from the nearby Jamunia river, electricity from the nearby power sub-station, raw iron material from nearby cities and coal from CCL colliery. Trademarks will also be approved for identification of iron material manufactured by Bhendra. At present, traders take the goods made in Bhendra to Kolkata and do some work there and fix the price by marking their own on the goods.
• Jagarnath Mahato said that efforts will be made to get approval by sending the project to the central government and after the project lands on the ground, Bhendra will be famous all over the country and at the same time the artisans, laborers and traders here will be uplifted.