Eco-friendly lamps made up of cow dung will illuminate Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghels residence this Diwali.
On returning from his Bastar tour on Saturday, the Chief Minister took some time for Diwali shopping and visited Talibandha Taalab in Raipur.
Stalls of Chhattisgarh Matikala Board, Chhattisgarh Handicraft Development Board, Chhattisgarh State Rural Livelihood Mission (Bihaan) and Devbhog, a brand of milk and allied products have been set up at Parikrama path here.
Earthen lamps, decorative items, gifts, Chhattisgarhi cuisines and other products made by women self help groups, potters, craftsmen and artisans of Chhattisgarh have been displayed in theses stalls for exhibition-cum-sale.
Decorative items and diyas made up of cow dung collected from Gauthan(cow shed) prepared by women self help groups are available for shoppers at the stall set up by Bihaan.
The chief minister bought, earthen lamps, cow dung lamps, sweets and other milk products made by Devbhog, Chhattisgarhi cuisine prepared by women self help groups etc. from these stalls. He also encouraged the artisans and sought information from them about methods used in preparing items.
The chief minister also distributed over 5 lakh earthen lamps made by potters from Patan (Durg) to the people.
He urged the people of Chhattisgarh to buy more and more products such as lamps, dresses, decorative items, gifts etc made by potters, craftsmen, artisans and weavers of Chhattisgarh during festivities. He added that this small initiative will bring happiness in lives of these craftsmen.
Raipur Municipal Corporation Mayor Pramod Dubey, Rajya Sabha member Chhaya Verma, MLA Kuldeep Juneja, Raipur Collector Dr S Bhartidasan, District Panchayat CEO Dr Gaurav Kumar Singh and local residents were present in large numbers at the venue.