LOCAL NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Programmes in favour of poor women in Lalitpur

Lalitpur, Feb. 11 (RSS): Lalitpur sub-metropolis has initiated the process of making the backward women of the sub-metropolis with low income self-reliant instead of safeguarding the cultural heritage and expanding the roads, drainage and electrification of the sub-metropolis.

According to Mayor of Lalitpur Sub-Metropolis Buddhiraj Bajracharya, a poverty alleviation programme has been launched for the backward women having low income with the cooperation of the UNDP urban management programme.

Likewise, the sub-metropolis has initiated the process of providing vocational training and loans at low interest rates to the unemployed women through the community development section in order to make them self-reliant.

Bajracharya said that the poverty alleviation programme is being launched with the objective of making the backward and unemployed women of the sub-metropolis self-reliant as development of the sub-metropolis is not possible without making the women who comprises more than half of the population more efficient and capable.

Bajracharya said that the sub-metropolis has allocated one million rupees and UNDP has provided Rs. 700,000 for the poverty alleviation programme.

A sum of Rs. 10 million is needed to provide loans to 5,000 backward and unemployed women of the sub-metropolis, Mayor Bajracharya said, adding that a request has been made to His Majesty's Government for a grant assistance of Rs. 5 million for this purpose.

The poverty alleviation programme is being initiated in Lalitpur sub-metropolis with Rs. 1.7 million, Bajracharya said, adding that a new economic revolution has launched the sub-metropolis with the objective of making the women self-reliant.

The sub-metropolis has also shouldered the responsibility of selling the quality goods produced by the trained women by opening a show room in the bazaar area of the sub-metropolis.

A task force comprising of the representatives of the Lalitpur Chamber of Industry and Commerce, SCOPE, Lumante, Urban Development Programme of the German government and Yala Urban Health Programme headed by Mayor Bajracharya has been constituted to make necessary arrangements for marketing the products of the women.

Likewise, fund management committee comprising of representatives of the sub-metropolis and SCOPE has been constituted to form groups of trained women and provide necessary loans.

According to chief of the sub-metropolis community development section Laxmi Devi Rajbhandari, 5,000 women have been provided training on 15 vocational topics since the establishment of the community development section in 2050 B.S.

Stating that the women have been provided training on tailoring, beauty parlour, making dolls, candles, bags, soaps, incense sticks, etc, she said that only 20 percent of the trained women have been involved in business and other places while the remaining women had been facing financial constraints.

Mayor Bajracharya said that this new concept had been moved ahead by the sub-metropolis after the success achieved from the exhibition cum sale of the goods produced by the trained women held two months ago.

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