Kolkata: PHOTO STORY: (Please try to use more than one pics with the story) The countdown has begun. Just nine days away from “Durga Puja”, the biggest festival of Bengalis. Kolkata and the entire West Bengal celebrate the festival at their utmost capacity. Markets are packed with people trying out the latest clothes. Food courts and sweet makers are upbeat for big business. The hands of the artisans in Kumartuli have no time to wash the mud and paints, as they have to ready the idols. But this time, Kumartuli, the idol market in Kolkata and puja organizers are facing acute shortage of artisans and labourers as the neighboring North and South 24 Parganas districts were badly battered by the destructive Aila cyclone followed by torrential rains. Many people have gone back to support their families in the villages and island of Sundarbans. It is believed in Bengal that Goddess Durga comes home every year with her four children and stays for four days. Every year she changes her mode of transport, which signifies certain environmental development. With no change, this year too, the goddess is arriving on a palanquin and departing on elephant. Her arrival on a palanquin signifies an outbreak of epidemic while her departure on elephant signifies good harvest. However, Durga Puja unfolds ample opportunities of small time employment and craftsmanship. The various puja organizers evolve themes, of which they display wide range of creative work along with the idols. Budget of these puja’s, which are usually very high, being sponsored by various corporate houses have been curtailed this year as a result of the economic slowdown. Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury. September 16, 2009.
The number of individuals insured under the Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana (RGSSBY), the first-ever ‘cashless’ health insurance initiative for artisans in India, has crossed the 19-lakh mark as on September 30.
Artisans spread over 29 states and 608 districts benefit from this comprehensive health insurance scheme facilitated by the Handicrafts Development Commissioner under the Ministry of Textiles, a press release issued here stated.
All artisans up to the age of 80 are eligible for coverage under RGSSBY.
Under this scheme, an artisan, his/her spouse and two dependents are covered annually for hospitalisation expenses up to Rs 15,000 and the principal member is also covered for Rs 1 lakh on accident, the release said.
It is also for the first time in the country that a health insurance scheme is giving cashless treatment for out patient (OPD) treatment.
A network of 860 OPD centres includes selected clinics for providing day-to-day treatment on a cashless basis to the artisans, including alternative therapies such as unani, ayurveda, homoeopathy and siddha, the release said.
The insured artisans can also get access to free hospitalisation in over 2,683 hospitals across urban and rural India.
Nearly 6 lakh policy-holders this year availed of RGSSBY’s facilities, the release said.
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