Kishanganj: Kishanganj district has taken an important step towards women’s empowerment and farmers’ welfare. A tea processing and packaging factory has now been handed over to Jeevika didis, women associated with the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society. The factory, located in Pothiya, will be operated entirely by women under the Mahananda Jeevika Mahila Agro Producer Company Limited.
The inauguration was held on Thursday, where Jeevika’s Additional Chief Executive Officer, Abhilasha Kumari Sharma, and District Magistrate Vishal Raj, along with other senior officials, lit the ceremonial lamp and cut the ribbon. Speaking at the event, Sharma said that this initiative will directly benefit farmers who are involved in tea cultivation and leaf plucking in the district. She added that Jeevika didis are symbols of women’s strength and this factory will give them a new path to economic independence.
District Magistrate Vishal Raj explained that the unit was built under the Swarn Jayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana with the main purpose of supporting farmers. The state cabinet later decided to transfer the unit to Jeevika so that local farmers could get fair prices for their produce. Now, the board of directors of Mahananda FPC, made up of Jeevika didis, will run the entire operation.
The event also featured exhibitions of products prepared by women’s groups in Kishanganj. Guests handed over dummy cheques for community investment funds, bank linkages and enterprise support to Jeevika members. Keys were also given to launch the new Didi Adhikar Kendra under Khushi CLF, and saplings were planted in the factory compound to mark the occasion.
Farmers expressed happiness over this development. Shikha and Aarti, two local women involved in tea cultivation, said that after the formation of the Mahananda FPC, growers have started receiving better returns for their efforts. They believe that the tea produced here, marketed under the name “Mahananda Leaf”, will soon earn recognition not only in India but also abroad.
