post news network, Bhubaneswar, April 15: Buoyed by the response Raghurajpur, the heritage crafts village near Puri, has generated among tourists from home and abroad, the state handlooms, textiles and handicraft department has planned to link major handicraft-and- handloom-producing village clusters/areas with tourism.
In a letter to the state tourism commissioner-cum-secretary Arvind Padhee, Chitra Arumugam, commissioner-cum-secretary of handlooms, textiles and handicraft department, has stated her plans to develop some of the major handloom and handicraft cluster villages situated in close proximity of some of the famous tourist sites and link those clusters to the tourist spots.
Arumugam in the letter has written, “Besides Raghurajpur in Puri district, it has also been planned to develop Lalitgiri, which is a famous Buddhist site in Cuttack district, into a major craft hub, and link it to tourism. A preliminary proposal has already been submitted to the Government of India for their consideration.”
She added, “In the meanwhile some more major handloom and handicraft producing clusters in the state, which are situated near famous tourist sites/centres and as such can be developed as tourism-linked-craft villages have been
identified.”
The textile department, meanwhile also has prepared a list of villages that have been identified across the state for consideration of the tourism secretary. The department has zeroed in on six handloom producing clusters in the state, which according to them have the potential to be developed into attractive craft destinations for tourists visiting the state.
The list includes Maniabandha village in Cuttack district, about 85 kms from Bhubaneswar, which is famous for traditional cotton tie-dye products of Khandua design. Maniabandha is a place significant for its Buddhist inhabitants and the Buddha temple.
The other nearby places that one may go to include, Bhattarika on the bank of river Mahanadi and Champeswar (famous Shiva temple), Ansupa, largest sweet water lake and Dhabeleswar (famous Shiva temple).
The list also includes Gopalpur in Jajpur district, which is famous for the traditional tassar fabrics. It is situated near Ratnagiri and Udayagiri, famous for their Buddhist monasteries. The list also mentions the Sagarpali village in Subarnapur district, famous for bomkai and traditional ‘ikat’ silk products. It is situated near the confluence of rivers Tel and Mahanadi.
Bargarh, famous for traditional cotton fabrics of ‘ikat’ varieties has also made it to the list. Bargarh is situated near the Hirakud dam and is a wildlife sanctuary. Berhampur too has been taken into account for its traditional silk products like joda and saree with phoda kumbha.
The last in the list is Patnagarh situated in Bolangir district, 375 kms from the state capital. It is known for the traditional cotton fabrics of “tie-dye” varieties. Besides, the place being close to Harisankar and Nrusinghanath, famous for their temple and waterfalls, add up to its importance.
