Srinagar, September 8: Giving a fillip to the traditional handicraft sector like chain stitch, Sozni work, carpet weaving, Kani shawl weaving etc to raise the living standards of associated artisans and craftsmen, J&K Bank Sherabad, Pattan disbursed loans under the KVIB scheme to 28 beneficiaries hailing from village of Arichinderhama. Senior Executive Manager of the Bank, Mr. Mohammad Syed Wani, distributed cheques among the artisans at a simple but impressive function held on September 8, 2007.
Stressing upon the need to inculcate the habit of savings Mr Mohammad Syed Wani said, “ J&K Bank is committed to empower every individual which is pre-requisite to the societal empowerment. And financial inclusion is one of its means to achieve the over all economic empowerment of people of state.”
“We really feel empowered because otherwise we used to be at the mercy of middlemen or shawl-traders who would provide us with the necessary raw materials for the work. We can now work, process and market our products in the market at better rates,” said a delighted Nissar Ahmed Rather, a local artisan.
It is notable that a few months back, J&K Bank in collaboration with KVIB organized an awareness programme wherein local artisans were informed about various central sponsored schemes and other financial services available to boost their artisan economy and thereby improving their living standards.
It is also pertinent to mention here that Sherabad Branch, Pattan had identified and adopted the hamlet as the potential village for artisan finance where almost every family is engaged in the traditional artisan work.
People of this area have hailed the initiative taken by J&K Bank and have expressed the hope that the bank would really help them to come out of the state of the economic deprivation and underdevelopment.