Models made by the participants at the district handicraft competition being inspected by the judges. Picture by Avijit Sarkar

Siliguri, Oct 22: Artisans of north Bengal will get a new lease of life thanks to the district display centre for handicrafts being set up by the Darjeeling district authorities at Siliguri.

Anil Saha, sabhadhipati, Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad, present at the district handicrafts competition as one of the judges told The Telegraph: “Without a decent display centre for the handicrafts endemic to the region, the artisans have been denied the scope of growing and tapping new markets. Most people are unaware of the different variety of crafts we boast of.”

Each block of the subdivisional town will boast of a display cell and the entire array will be showcased at the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad building.

“The project is already underway and will be completed soon. All the centres will also house products made by the many self-help groups,” Saha said.

Plans are also being chalked out to increase the number of self-help groups in the region. Training programmes to initiate the formation of self-help groups will also be undertaken. Retail outlets to allow the groups to market their products are also in the pipeline.

“Jam, jelly pickle and other such items, which have a ready market, will be sold from the retail outlets,” Saha added. “This will give the craftsmen reasons to work towards promoting their skills.”

Talking about the district competition Saha said: “The artisans can use this opportunity as a platform to take his skills to other parts of the country. The participants who stand first, second and third will go ahead to battle it out at the state championships to be held in Calcutta in December.”

“Handicrafts of the area have always secured prizes at the state level. Last year one of the artisans stood second,” said Biswajit Das, general secretary, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FOCIN).

Some 37 artisans from Naxalbari, Matigara and Phasidewa participated in the competition. The artisans were classified in four groups and there were separate awards for each category of craftsmanship.

Tapti Dey bagged the first prize in the needle work group while Sushil Roy struck gold in woodcarving. Dilip Pal secured first position in the clay modelling group with Kavita Ghosh came first in the Sand and Fabric group.

“The prize money ranges from Rs 200 to Rs 500. The amount is only a token to appreciate their unique skills. We will pay, however, shoulder all the expenses for setting up stalls during the state level competition,” the sabhadipati said.