Under the government’s ‘One Station, One Product’ (OSOP) scheme, which was announced in the Union budget for 2022-23 by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the parliament, Indian Railways’ KSR Bengaluru railway station will market ‘Channapatna toys’. On Friday, Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager Shyam Singh inaugurated the ‘Stall of Channapatna toys’ at KSR Bengaluru railway station, according to a PTI report. The South Western Railway zone in a statement said that Channapatna toys are special wooden toys and dolls manufactured in the town of Channapatna popularly known as “Gombegala Ooru” (Toy Town) in the district of Ramanagara, Karnataka. The Channapatna toys have got the Geographical Indicator (GI) tag.
According to the zonal railway, on a pilot basis, the Bengaluru Division has allotted a stall for the promotion of Channapatna toys at the station to V Prakash, a local craftsman associated with Channapatna Handicrafts Artists Association. The statement further mentioned that this initiative by the Railway Ministry is aimed to promote local items in stations across the Indian Railways network under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a self-reliant country. The main purpose of this initiative is to encourage local craftsmen and artisans to market their products more effectively. According to South Western Railways, KSR Bengaluru is the first railway station in the state of Karnataka to market the famed Channapatna Toys.
Meanwhile, the Railway Ministry announced under the concept of ‘One Station, One Product’, the Kota Junction railway station in Rajasthan will feature Kota Doria Sarees, Tirupati railway station will feature Kalamkari Sarees, as well as textiles and Rajkot railway station, will feature local Terracotta Pottery. Through this noble initiative of “One Station One Product”, the national transporter is offering support to local artisans and craftsmen by providing railway station stalls and Platform Vending with easy access to rail passengers.