1 2 Prayagraj : Prayagraj’s One District One Product ( ODOP ) handicraft made from Moonj grass will make its way into the Maha Kumbh 2025 in a big way. Chief development officer (CDO), Prayagraj, Gaurav Kumar said special baskets made from the GI tagged Moonj grass will be made available at stalls of the district administration, tourism department, as well as hotels and restaurants during the mega religious event. These baskets will contain a small vessel, named ‘Akshay Ganga Kalash ’ (containing Ganga water) along with a laminated holy leaf of the Akshayvat tree in such a way to slow its drying process.
Dhoop (incense sticks) made of cow dung and the logo of Maha Kumbh printed on the basket will make the basket unique. “We have decided that the baskets will be of different sizes priced between Rs 301 and Rs 501. Although we have not finalised the exact number of the baskets, the same would depend on the requirement as we are expecting crores of visitors this Maha Kumbh.
What better opportunity will it be than to offer some gift made of our ODOP,” said Kumar. Kumar further said this innovation will bring a new revolution in the field of handicraft. “This will not only strengthen the economic condition of the craftsmen but will also spread the glory of local crafts all over the world.
Preparations are being made on a large scale for this. A team of a total of 16 departments is being deployed along with the tourism and industry department,” he added. About 550 women from 55 groups of Maheva village, famous for Moonj products have been engaged for the task.
Craftsmen from eight villages around Maheva, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, and Sidhi and Shahdol of Madhya Pradesh and Madhubani of Bihar will also be engaged. “For this, talks have started with the local administration of these districts. If the craftsmen of these districts get involved in preparing them, then 5 lakh baskets can be prepared in the next five months,” he said.
The tourism department has been made the nodal agency and industry department as an assistant for the sale of the product. Sources said Moonj also has religious and mythological importance. Astrologer Pt Acharya Devendra Prasad Tripathi said Moonj is considered sacred it is one of the 10 types of Kush (grass) that is believed to have purifying properties and the virtues of Lord Vishnu.
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