Dhubri, Dec. 15: A huge concrete gate straddling National Highway 31 symbolises the changing face of Asharikandi, the region?s most famous centre for pottery and terracotta craftsmanship.

The Union tourism ministry has included Asharikandi in its list of 50 jewels of the rural tourism circuit, an appellation that has not only given it some well-deserved publicity but also brought with it funds from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Delhi.

Encouraged by the support, the rural centre in Dhubri district of Assam is developing infrastructure you would expect only at major tourist destinations ? tourist huts, rest camps, multi-cuisine restaurants, a terracotta park and reception and sale counters. Exquisite terracotta and pottery products from Asharikandi ? mainly decorative items ? are already being exported to Europe and the Americas.

Bipin Chandra Dutta, a second-generation terracotta artisan, said the UNDP-sponsored project would not only expand the scope of the trade but also encourage beneficiaries like him to increase the range of their products.

Home to nearly 500 artisans, Asharikandi?s USP is its soil, which is considered ideal for terracotta products. Dhirendra Nath Paul, one of the acclaimed artisans of the village, has received awards at the national and international levels.

Dhubri deputy commissioner Karuna Kanta Kalita, who is also the chairman of the Asharikandi Terracotta and Pottery Development Committee, said the rural tourism project had been divided into two sections. ?One is the hardware component, entailing development of infrastructure. The software component includes training for capacity-building, seminars, workshops, supervision, exposure and entrepreneurship.?

The North East Craft and Rural Development Organisation, an NGO, is assisting the district administration in executing the project. Binoy Bhattacharjee, director of the NGO, credited Governor Lt Gen. (retd) Ajai Singh with initiating the new project.