‘Muktidhara’ to make rural unemployed youth self-reliant

Subrata Mukherjee, minister for Panchayat and Rural Development said the project would bring perceptible change in rural Bengal. It may be mentioned that Sabuj sathi, a project to give bicycles to the students from classes IX to XII, studying in state run, aided and sponsored schools, Kanyashree, a project meant for girl child and construction of roads and bridges and supply of drinking water and power in the rural areas, have changed the scenario in rural Bengal in the past 

five years.

Through various projects taken up by the departments, thousands of people living in villages have become self reliant. Even the housewives with little formal education are earning money to become economically self dependent.

Under the scheme every gram panchayat will have five groups each having 10 members. They will get bank loan at the rate of 2% while the state government will provide another 9 per cent. The scheme will provide support to the Self Help Groups by creating infrastructure.

The department will support those intending to do pisciculture, pig farming and poultry by providing training and raw material. It may be recalled that after coming to power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had laid special emphasis on rural development. Maximum stress was given on road connectivity and over 10,000 km rural roads have been built in the past five years.

Now, the emphasis is on employment generation in the rural areas by providing more financial assistance to the youth. It may be recalled that officials of union rural development ministry who had come to the districts had praised the Panchayat and rural development department  for taking up various schemes that have made people self reliant.