Jhansi: In a major boost to Bundelkhand’s traditional food heritage, Jhansi’s famous balushahi and dal bafla have been selected as the local delicacies under the proposed ‘One District One Cuisine’ (ODOC) to give them national and international recognition.The initiative seeks to promote traditional cuisines by improving their quality, branding, packaging, shelf life and market reach while also providing skill development and financial assistance to artisans and entrepreneurs associated with them.As per deputy commissioner industries, Manish Chaudhary, standard recipe manuals will be developed for balushahi and dal bafla to preserve their authenticity, ensure hygiene and food safety standards and make the products scalable for larger markets. Govt also plans to enhance shelf life of these food items and develop new variants.“To improve quality standards, assistance will be taken from reputed institutions such as Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) and National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM). Product testing will also be carried out through recognised institutions”, said Chaudhary.Govt will introduce specialised training courses through accredited institutes to equip local artisans and entrepreneurs with modern techniques related to the selected cuisines. Financial assistance and easier access to credit facilities will also be provided under various state and central govt schemes.Packaging support will be offered with the help of the Indian Institute of Packaging and other reputed agencies. To promote the dishes among tourists and wider markets, tourism department will showcase ODOC cuisines during food festivals, tourism events and tourist circuit programmes. The dishes will also receive promotion at ODOP events.The officials said artisans and entrepreneurs associated with selected cuisines would benefit from schemes such as ODOP, CM Yuva, Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarozgar Yojana, Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana, Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme, and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. Entrepreneurs linked to the selected ODOC products would also receive financial support through banking and financial institutions.
