Bidar-Bangalore train inauguration on September 1st'

Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge will inaugurate a new tri-weekly train between Bidar and Bangalore on September 1.

This was disclosed by former chief minister and Bidar Lok Sabha member N Dharam Singh at a press meet at the District Congress Committee office here on Sunday.

The train’s inauguration will be held at the Bidar Railway Station at 12 noon. The new train will depart from Bidar at 6 pm and reach Bangalore at 8 am the next morning. On the return, it will depart Bangalore at 7 pm and reach Bidar at 8 am the next morning, he added.

“We could not change the timing of the Nanded-Bangalore Express from 12:30 pm to 5 pm despite a series of efforts. However, after Mallikarjun Kharge became the Railway Minister, the district’s long-pending demand for an alternative train has been fulfilled. This has brought happiness to the people of the district and we will celebrate it in a grand manner,” he said.

He pointed out that the Nanded-Bangalore Express train takes 19 hours to cover the 735 km between Bidar and Bangalore. However, the new train will help passengers save 6 to 7 hours, he said.

Dharam Singh said the Bidar-Humanabad push and pull train will also be inaugurated within a month. The demand of Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS) students seeking due recognition for the institute will be resolved within two months. “I have discussed this with Medical Education Minister Sharanprakash Patil and he has promised to solve the

issue within two months,” he said. Compensation to farmers in the district who sufferred loss due to excess rain will be given soon, he added. Problems of the Bidar Sahakara Sakkare Karkhane will be solved soon and a delegation will meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah shortly, he said.

source:http://newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Bidar-Bangalore-train-inauguration-on-September-1st/2013/08/26/article1752649.ece

Bidriware finds remunerative prices on the Internet

The Internet is doing to Bidri artisans what the governments or civil society organisations could not do all these years — provide remunerative prices to the centuries-old handicraft.

Most of the trade in Bidriware is through middlemen in Hyderabad or Mumbai. “They have never paid us well. The trader keeps most of the profits and the artisan is left with a pittance,” Mohammad Saleem, president of the Bidri youth mandal in Bidar, said. A middleman buys a flower pot for Rs. 200 from artisans. But it is sold in the range of Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 1,200 per piece in Hyderabad or Mumbai, he said.

State-run agencies, including the Union government’s Commissionerate for Handicrafts and the Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation, have long been providing training and raw material at subsidised prices. The Cauvery handicrafts showroom in Bangalore routinely buys bidriware items from handicraftsmen. However, these organisations have not been able to provide them comfortable profit margins. Nor have they been able to help artisans when the price of silver or copper increases steadily or when the sale of bidriware slumps in the market.

Similarly, efforts at forming a federation or self-help groups of artisans have not been successful. The federation does little other than holding occasional meetings or imparting training to craftsmen. The self-help groups are yet to take off.

However, artisans have discovered a friend in e-commerce. Several websites are offering to sell bidriware at good prices. The biggest benefit is that there are no middlemen here. Websites carry details, including photographs of varieties and prices of the art pieces.

“When a demand is generated, their executives call us and ask us to prepare and supply the item. We send it by courier to the customer. Once the item is received, the company transfers money to our bank accounts,” Mr. Saleem said.

Last week, he sent office stationery items such as envelope openers and paper weights to Kerala and wall hangings to art lovers in Rajasthan. He said that the websites kept about 15-20 per cent of the selling price as their profits, compared to the 200-300 per cent profits pocketed by middlemen.

“Compared to our trade with middlemen, the number of pieces sold on websites is less. Therefore, the transaction volumes and resulting profits are less. However, there is a chance of growth and expansion of online trade,” says Imtiyaz Ali, who completed his graduation recently. His father, Ahmed Ali, is an artisan.

Apart from the government websites of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Bidri art can be bought online from some popular private websites. They include bidrihandicraft.com, amazon.com, Christies.com, bonhams.com, snapdeal.com, mirraw.com, artsquare.in, fizdi.com, junglee.com, clickindia.com, redbag.in, artstoreindia.in, creativecraftz.co.in, kalamadhyam.org, craftsvilla.com, zaarga.com, rangiru.com, rediff.com and homeshop18.com.

They are also bought and sold on platforms such as ebay.in, quikr.com and tolmol.com that arrange meetings of buyers and sellers.

“We had thought this craft would die with us. But the online market has made us hopeful that our next generation will continue the tradition,” said Rashid Quadri, national award-winning Bidri artisan.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/bidriware-finds-remunerative-prices-on-the-internet/article5061802.ece

Dharam Singh wants to contest from Bidar again

N. Dharam Singh


N. Dharam Singh, MP, has indicated that he wants to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Bidar again.

“I will withdraw from the contest if (All-India Congress Committee president) Sonia Gandhi asks me to,” the 77-year-old Congress leader told presspersons on Sunday. He said he was aspiring to become an MP again and denied rumours that he was retiring to make way for someone else.

Asked about some KJP leaders wanting to join the Congress, he said the Congress had not invited any leader to join the party. But there were some developments among KJP leaders who were not willing to follow B.S. Yeddyurappa if he were to return to the BJP, he said.

The Congress would win 20 of the 28 seats in Karnataka in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Singh said, and added that the Narendra Modi factor would have no effect on the party’s prospects.

He said he had informed Medical Education Minister Sharanaprakash Patil about the problems at the Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences, including vacancies of teachers and lack of infrastructure. “I have told him that students are on strike demanding permanent recognition by the Medical council of India. He has agreed to solve the problems in three months,” Mr. Singh said.

He said Bidar Sahakari Sakkare Karakhane president Sanjay Kheny had told him about the financial problems being faced by the factory. “He wants me to lead a delegation to the Chief Minister, and I have agreed for it,” he said.

The MP said Bidar was likely to get an FM radio station soon. “Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari had assured me that it will be sanctioned,” Mr. Singh said.

“The Rs. 500-crore special package for Bidar, promised by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar last year, was being processed. I have urged the Minister to speed up the process,” he said.

source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/dharam-singh-wants-to-contest-from-bidar-again/article5058829.ece