In a unique initiative, a public service institution in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur town has utilised the discount offered by the State government on the khadi fabric for creation of a clothes bank, from which woollen clothes are being distributed to the poor and needy people. The garments were procured from Khadi Gramodaya Samitis for donating them during winter.
The State government had announced 50% discount on khadi products on Gandhi Jayanti, which was applicable till December 31. The Samriddh Bharat Abhiyan Sansthan requested Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh, representing Bharatpur district’s Deeg-Kumher Assembly constituency, to get the discount extended by at least one month to facilitate the creation of a clothes bank.
Sansthan’s convener Sita Ram Gupta told The Hindu here on Monday that while the discount was extended till January 30, the institution approached the Khadi Gramodaya Samitis with the offer to purchase their entire stocks if they gave 65% discount.
“We have procured khadi woollen garments worth ₹15 lakh for just ₹.4.20 lakh, clearing the stocks of Samitis, and started distributing them in the regular camps organised in Bharatpur, Alwar and Dholpur districts,” Mr. Gupta said.
Women’s rights activist and recipient of an award for women’s empowerment Renu Sikarwar has joined hands with the Sansthan to strengthen the clothes bank.
Mr. Gupta said the initiative had also struck at the market in the rural areas, where the shopkeepers were making enormous profits by selling the woollens at exorbitant prices. Besides, it will promote khadi products in the villages.
Attention needed
Mr. Gupta, an electrical engineer-turned corporate executive, said though the government was taking a number of steps for meeting the food and housing needs of the poor, it was paying little attention to arranging clothes for them.
The Sansthan has approached the Chief Minister’s Offices in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka for launching similar clothes banks for the benefit of the needy people.
