Amit Shah distributes electric wheels to 200 potters

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday distributed 200 electric potter wheels (chaak) to members of Kumhar (potter) community residing in 20 villages in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad at Randheja village, Gandhinagar, in a function via video conference from New Delhi.

The locality comes under parliamentary constituency of Shah.

The electric wheels were distributed to the potters under the scheme of "Kumhar Sashakrikaran Yojana" of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

Before handing over the equipment, the artisans underwent ten days' training.

KVIC chairman V K Saxena said that the new equipment more than doubles the productivity of the artisans. He said that under the scheme, launched in 2018, over 800 potters have been trained in Gujarat alone.

Saxena said in the event that more than 18,000 such wheels have been distributed in the country, benefiting over 80,000 people of the community. He said that people from West Bengal's Sundarban to Leh have benefited from the scheme.

"I like this machine as it runs very fast and it has nearly doubled my productivity. Earlier, I used to make 400 to 500 earthen lamps in a day which has increased to 1,000 a day. We are sensing a surge in demand this time during upcoming Diwali festivity. I hope this machine will come in handy," said Bharat Prajapati, a potter from Mansa village, who attended the event.

Mansa in Gandhinagar district also happens to be the native village of Shah.

During the event, Shah, who has recently recovered from illness, said that the electric wheel "will not only help potters to enhance their production but also enable them to make new fancy products that will fetch them good income during the Dussehra and Diwali festivals."

He said that the government has created proper marketing channels including a tie-up with the Indian Railway for selling their products.

He said that Railway Ministry has already designated 400 railway stations where only earthenware will be used to sell food and beverages, which will create more demand.