Terracotta sculpture trade to get more permits from CFCs.

Gorakhpur : The special identity of Gorakhpur also includes products of terracotta sculpture. Ever since Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath included terracotta in the ODOP (One District One Product) scheme seven years ago, the business of this clay sculpture has been growing day by day. Terracotta business will now be licensed through the Common Facility Center (CFC). Two CFCs are already in the process from District Industries Center and now Safe Society, an NGO in association with SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) has also taken initiative for this. Work has already started on opening of CFC in Bharwalia, Gulriha by SIDBI. This will provide a lot of convenience to the terracotta artisans. The process of opening CFCs in Padri Bazar and Aurangabad is in progress by the District Industries Centre.

The Terracotta Common Facility Center under construction at Bharwalia is expected to be operational by the end of this month. Here the craftsmen will have a single point of contact for all types of work. Safe Society Chairman Vaibhav Sharma said that CFC is being made inspired by the initiative taken by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath regarding terracotta. This CFC will have facilities for electric furnaces, training of artisans and marketing of finished goods.

Manish Sinha, General Manager of SIDBI Lucknow Region, says that the opening of Terracotta CFC will facilitate training in new methods, new technology to prepare products. It does not cost less and more goods can be prepared in less time. Another product i.e. earthenware is dry fired which takes about 18 hours and if it is fired in CFC tunnel kiln then one trolley of terracotta is ready in thirty minutes. He said that the artisans who are working with CFC will benefit from the business and new people in this sector will also be able to join the business by taking training. Manish Sinha said that CFC will be operated by SIDBI for two years. After this SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) will be made and it will be handed over to the beneficiary artisans.

* Craftsmen now have plenty of work for the whole year*

The terracotta sculpture, which had been in disrepair till seven years ago, got the support of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s ambitious ODOP scheme. The terracotta sculptors, who once often sat down, now have plenty of work to do throughout the year. On festivals like Diwali, they get orders six months in advance.

*Industry Changed Terracotta Sculpture*

To turn terracotta sculpture into an enterprise, CM Yogi included it in the multi-faceted and ambitious ODOP scheme. After joining ODOP, terracotta artisans received resourceful, financial and technical support, under the leadership of CM there was such tremendous branding that its market expanded immensely. The Chief Minister himself is branding Terracotta from all forums. In a way its brand ambassador is Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself. With the combination of electric wheel, pug mill, design table etc., the work of the craftsmen became easier and the productivity increased three to four times.

*More than 30 percent new people join the terracotta business*

At present terracotta sculptures are produced in the villages of Gulriha, Bharwalia, Jungle Ekla No-2, Ashrafpur, Hafiz Nagar, Padri Bazar, Belwa, Balapar, Shahpur, Saraiya Bazar, Zungia, Araj Rajdhani etc. The work is going on at a large scale. After joining ODOP, about 30-35 percent of the new people are also associated with the terracotta business due to market growth.