Two women smile during the Working Woman Expo at Dimapur Government College Grounds on December 18.
Working Woman Expo underway at Dimapur
Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 18
Minister for Higher & Technical Education and Tribal Affairs, Temjen Imna Along Longkumer on Wednesday assured to grant an amount of Rs 1 crore for Self Help Groups (SHG) next year from the Tribal Affairs ministry.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating Working Woman Expo at Dimapur Government College Grounds, Along lauded the initiative of MLA, Moatoshi Longkumer for empowering women by assisting them for a sustainable livelihood. Impressed with the initiative, the Minister assured Rs 1 crore financial assistance to the SHGs within 2 Dimapur II AC in 2020. Along appealed the organizers to spread the initiative to other parts of the state.
Stating that the real freedom for Nagas remain in production by the people themselves, the Minister encouraged the citizens to grow and produce within their own capacities without depending on imported items. “If your freedom is at bondage and dependent only on others then you will never be free,” he added.
Along pointed out that the Naga culture and tradition ends only by wearing a scarf, shawl etc and said that the real culture of hard work and talents in handicrafts was vanishing. “Let us buy our own products and promote our traditional clothing, let us promote our way of life and not imitate the way of life of others,” he appealed.
At the same time, Along called for living with all communities with the right mindset and not to undermine each other.
MLA Moatoshi who is one of the key persons behind the initiative of the Expo in his keynote address said that the Working Woman Project was established in 2018 by a team of six women with the objective of uplifting women within 2 Dimapur II Assembly Constituency. He informed that an amount of Rs 20, 000 each was given to various SHGs in his constituency out of the LADP fund as seed money. The SHGs were also assisted by the Department of Agriculture and Land Resources, he added.
Representatives of 242 SHGs covering 39 colonies and impacting 2400 families within the constituency also spoke during the programme.
The Expo which would continue till December 20 is being manned by SHGs selling their own products and food items.
