Hyderabad, May 16 (Agency) About 72 Railway stations across South Central Railway are covered with 77 outlets of ‘One Station One Product’ (OSOP) giving high visibility to local products in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka under SCR jurisdiction. The OSOP scheme was introduced by the Ministry of Railways, with a mission to promote local and indigenous products by providing a market and additional income opportunities for marginalized sections of society. The concept, announced in the Union Budget of 2022-23, has since gained momentum and is proving to be a triumph for local artisans. On SCR, OSOP concept was initially introduced at six railway stations for a duration of 30 days.
Eventually, with the terrific response received for the pilot project, the outlets have since been spread over seventy Railway stations on the zone. In Telangana, 26 Railway stations including Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Kacheguda, Warangal, Nizamabad and Gadwal are covered with 29 stalls of one station one product thereby giving a major boost to livelihood and welfare of local artisans. Some of the products include handlooms by local weavers such as traditional Narayanpet, Gadwal and Pochampalli sarees; Millet based food products; TSCO handlooms, Bhadrachalam bamboo crafts; temple deity idols; forest collections, Handi crafts; Nirmal toys and local delicacies.Handloom sarees are a traditional textile art of India and the production of these sarees is vital for the economic development of rural India.
The most famous variety of handloom sarees in Telangana are Gadwal Handlooms Sarees and Narayanapet silk sarees. Gadwal sari is a handcrafted woven sari style in Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana.Over Six outlets have been allocated for this variety of sarees which not only gives due recognition to local weavers but also contributes towards socio-economic development. Recently, the sale of millet based products is being encouraged by Railways to create domestic and global demand and to provide nutritional food to the people. In this direction, seven Railways stations are covered with OSOP stalls on millet based products. SCR General Manager Arun Kumar Jain expressed that the ‘One Station One Product’ scheme provides a significant opportunity for local artisans to showcase their products. He expressed that railway stations are well suited to promote indigenous products which are famous at the surrounding places among the travelling passengers.