Rs 10 lakh corpus fund for revival, existence of Brass-copper utensils

Punjab Government on Sunday announced a corpus fund of Rs 10 lakh for the revival and existence of the dying art of hand-made brass and copper utensils, which are also recognised by the UNESCO at the world level.

The announcement was made by the state Local Bodies, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu after he personally visited the thatheras (craftsmen at Jandiala Guru) and assured that money will never be a dearth for these craftsmen at Jandiala Guru.

Sidhu, accompanied by Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha, Punjab Tourism Director Shiv Dular Singh and students of Enactus Sree Ram College of Commerce, went through the narrow streets of traditional bazaars where the thatheras carve these impressive utensils and assured whole hearted support to the craftsmen.

“It is a matter of pride as this is the only Indian craft form to find place in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. These people are our pride and today, I promise them that this government of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh stands rock solid with them and will never let this art fade away,” he said.

He added, “I have announced a Corpus Fund of Rs 10 lakh for them and we will also give a shop to them in the city where they can showcase their utensils. Money will never be a dearth for them and as soon as more funds are required, we will release.”

Notably, both Amritsar DC and Enactus had played a good role in the project named ‘project virasat’, which is a joint initiative taken by Amritsar District Administration and Enactus Shri Ram College of Commerce.

‘Project Virasat’ was taken up with an aim to uplift the ‘thathera’ community of Jandiala Guru in the district of Amritsar, who hammer brass, copper and kansa into beautiful utensils.