OREANDA-NEWS. October 5, 2012. Maithon Power (MPL), a 2 x 525MW power generation plant in Jharkhand, which is a 74:26 joint venture company of Tata Power and Damodar Valley Corporation, has taken up a programme of creating employment for the womenfolk of remote villages under the Nirsa block in Jharkhand.

The company has tied up with the incense stick making industry and has launched a production centre run by a 35-member women self-help group (WSHG). The WSHG members were initially trained by industry experts on the techniques of manufacturing, packaging and sales of the incense sticks in bulk.

The WSHG group members in turn will train other women in the villages to enhance employment opportunities, thus making this project a self-sustainable and self-propelled business for the womenfolk in the vicinity of the plant.

Speaking on the initiatives, Bhaskar Sarkar, CEO, MPL, said, "It’s our endeavour to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to our communities. We are happy to make a difference at grassroot levels and empower womenfolk through this self-sustaining initiative of incense stick making. This employment opportunity will help them to support their family economically and contribute positively to the family income."

After successfully evaluating the quality of products the manufacturers are now providing raw materials, and the entire quantity produced is being purchased by them directly.