Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday offered an 11-kilometre long chunri (stole) at the famous Danteshwari temple in the state's Naxal-hit Dantewada district.
According to officials, the red-coloured chunri, which is the longest one offered so far, was prepared by women employed with DANNEX, short for 'Dantewada Next', a garment manufacturing network started by the district administration in January last year.
There are now five DANNEX units in the district.
Mr Baghel, who was here as a part of his constituency-wise public interaction drive 'Bhent Mulaqat', performed rituals at the temple of goddess Maa Dantewshwari during which the stole was offered.
Some 300 women DANNEX employees prepared the chunri in seven days, and this stole is expected to get them and their skills worldwide recognition, a local official said.
Women from the unit had set a world record previously when an 8,000-metre long chunri was offered to the Narmada river at Mandsaur in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh in 2017, the official added.
Earlier talking to reporters, Mr Baghel said peace is returning to Bastar, of which Dantewada is a part, and the area, once known for bullets and explosions, was now becoming synonymous with DANNEX and other development works.
"Bastar is a place of natural beauty and brotherhood. Now, people are tired of the bloodshed (referring to Naxalism) and want peace. Bastar is returning towards peace. Police patrolling has been intensified. The place where once talks of bullets and explosions were common, is now known for DANNEX and other things," he said, adding that the change have come about due to his government's people-centric work and welfare schemes.
Government schemes and administration have now reached the remote areas of the Bastar region, and availability of employment as well as efforts to associate people with self employment have dealt a blow to Naxalism, the Chief Minister said.
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