Dantewada:
A garment factory operated by women at a village in Chhattisgarh’s Naxal-hit Dantewada district will manufacture uniforms of the Central Reserve Police Force, a government official said.
The ‘Nava Dantewada Garment Factory’, established recently by locals in Haaram village under Geedam development block with the support of the district administration, employs members of nearly 300 families from the area, he said.
The unit, set up on five acres of land with an investment of Rs 1.92 crore, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday.
Operated by Bihan women’s group, the unit will manufacture clothes under the brand name ‘DANNEX’, an abbreviation for Dantewada Next, the public relations department official said.
The factory has signed memoranda of understanding(MoUs) with the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)for selling its products, the official said.
As part of the contract with the CRPF, the factory will manufacture uniforms of the force, which is deployed in the state for anti-Naxal operations, he said.
While inaugurating the facility during his two-day visit to the tribal-dominated district, Baghel expressed hope that the DANNEX brand will soon have its presence not only inthe country but abroad also.
The factory was set up after providing training to local women, particularly tribals, as a measure of poverty alleviation and generating employment, the official said.
”In Dantewada, which has witnessed several Naxal incidents and where there was no employment except in mines, today our sisters are getting trained and making various types of readymade garments, including high-quality jackets, shirts and kurtas,” Baghel said.
Such a kind of factory does not even exist in the state capital Raipur, the CM said.
”The hard work of our sisters will soon change the picture of Dantewada and will give a new identity to the region,” Baghel said.
He also interacted with the women working at the unit.
Similar units will also be set up in Dantewada city,Barolo village, and Bacheli town, which will provide employment to nearly 1,000 families in the district, the official said.
