Chief Minister Kamal Nath said that only positive thinking brings about change. Whatever development has taken place in Chhindwara till date is the result of positive thinking of the people here. The Chief Minister was addressing the convocation ceremony of Footwear Design and Development Institute in Chhindwara on Saturday.
He honoured 89 students of different classes who received gold and silver medals in the academic session 2018 and 2019 by awarding them degrees.
The Chief Minister said that when he first became the Member of Parliament of Chhindwara 40 years ago, not even passenger buses were plying here. There was no halt of train at Pandhurna. There was not enough availability of drinking water and electricity. The tribals of Patalkot brought even salt from outside. Roads were not good. He said that after seeing such a situation, I decided that I will not sit peacefully till this entire region develops and the unemployed get employment.
Nath said that when he was the Commerce Minister at the Centre, he started a mission to establish the identity of Chhindwara in the entire country and state with the establishment of the Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) at Imlikheda, Chhindwara. He said that not only the state and the country, but most of the training institutes in the world are established in Chhindwara. Thousands of educated and uneducated youth have also got employment through these institutions.
Nath said that today Chhindwara has a university, medical college, agriculture and horticulture college. All this development was possible because the thinking and attitude of the people of Chhindwara district is positive. He said that the development of Chhindwara has benefited not only the people here but also the people of Mahakaushal and Nagpur. He said that Chhindwara Horticulture College will be modernized. The institute will impart education for production of advanced and new agricultural and horticultural crops.
Managing Director of the institute, Arun Kumar Sinha said that this institute was established in Noida in the year 1986 by the Ministry of Commerce. There are 12 FDDI institutes in the country, of which one is in Chhindwara district. This institute has the status of a national institution for which the FDDI Act 2017 has been made. In this, students are given undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the fields of footwear design, leather accessories, retail management and fashion design. Since the establishment of the institute, 580 students of which 322 are from Chhindwara district have passed in various disciplines. After completion of studies, the passouts are provided employment opportunities in national and multinational companies from here.
