Bhubaneswar, April 24: Field officers of the textile department will now meet weavers of the state to educate them about the beneficial schemes of the government.

"These days, there are a number of schemes running under the state and central governments for their advantages, but it fails to reach the artisans. So, we have asked the field officers to have face-to-face conversation with the weavers to let them have a better understanding of ways to avail themselves of the beneficial proposals," said textiles and handicrafts minister Snehangini Chhuria.

Members of the Odisha Shilpi Mahasangha recently staged a dharna, demanding solutions to their problems due to unavailability of raw materials and absence of an organised market. The matter was solved after the department authorities had a meeting with the weavers assuring them of chalking out schemes to solve their problems at the earliest.

The officers would enlighten them on topics such as how to obtain capacity building training under the handloom sector and get benefits under the health insurance schemes. The department has set a target of covering around 40,000 weavers under the Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana by next year.

That apart, a target has been set to provide solar lanterns to around 10,000 weavers reeling from darkness in various rural areas of the state. A target has been set for each of the field officers from every district, and they have been asked to reach out to the weavers in the stipulated time.