Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that Gadhika was a festival of hope for the Scheduled Tribes.
Fairs such as this would help them sell their products. Speaking after inaugurating the 10-day Gadhika Folk Art Fair and Product Fair at the Kannur collectorate stadium, he said Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities found it difficult to access markets for the products of their unique traditional art. The State Government was organising Gadhika fairs to solve this problem.
The Government had taken a non-compromising approach to the welfare of the two communities. As part of this, training in modern technology and innovation, programmes in education, nutrition and health care were conducted.
The Government’s project, “Gothra Bandhu” to sensitise them to the importance of education and provide them with primary education in the tribal languages was a huge success, he said. As part of this, teachers from the Scheduled Tribe communities were recruited in LP classes. The Government had set up 125 government-run social study rooms to facilitate the enrolment of SC students. In another initiative, 1,576 members had been enrolled in the Government-sponsored “Gothra Valsalyam Nidhi Insurance Scheme”, which provided education for girls.
A.K Balan, Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, said that the Gadhika fair at would strengthen the self esteem and creativity of the communities.
K.K Shailaja, Minister for Health, said that the high infant mortality rate was one of the biggest challenges faced by the communities.
