'Will engage more tribal women into SHGs'

KOLKATA: When Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made her a member of the Cabinet after she came to power for the third time in 2021, Birbaha Hansda promised that she would put an all-round effort for the development of the tribal community. And as Jungalmahal, home to West Bengal's maximum number of tribal population, saw several developments in several fields like Karate activity, improvement in agriculture, education and health, Mamata rewarded her with a full Cabinet berth on Wednesday.

Hansda became the Minister for Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Self Employment Department. According to Hansda, she had decided to engage as many tribal women as possible to form SHGs and promote local handicrafts.

Hansda said: "There is huge demand for tribal handicrafts, but they did not receive proper marketing facilities. As Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has given me the responsibility of this department, I would like to engage more tribal women and form self help groups so that they can get an opportunity to showcase their product."

Birbaha Hansda, daughter of Chunibala Hansda, feels that politics runs in her blood. Even though she has had a successful career in acting, she wanted to join politics for the development of the tribal communities.

Hansda said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had done enough for her to rise in politics. She not only thanked Banerjee, but also said that she would remain grateful to her till the last breath.

Birbaha's father, Naren Hansda, had founded the Jharkhand Party (Naren), and her mother (Chunibala) joined politics only after Naren's death in 2000. Birbaha, who acted in eight Santhali movies and has won half a dozen awards, is new to politics. The 33-year-old actor was raised in Jhargarm, though later she shifted base to Ranchi to pursue her acting career. She started her career as a Bharatnatyam dancer. Her mother Chunibala, a two-term MLA from Binpur, is an accomplished dancer as well.