Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 27: Minister for Industries and Commerce, S S Slathia today called for exploring new and modern marketing channels to promote sale of State’s unique handicrafts and handlooms.
Speaking at a function after inaugurating weeklong Handloom Expo at world famous tourist resort, Pahalgam, the Minister said that holding of handloom sale-cum-exhibition events at various tourist places would provide platform to the artisans and weavers and would also help to boost sale of handicrafts among the tourists. He asked the Handloom Development Department, Handloom Corporation and the Handicrafts Departments to formulate a yearly calendar for organizing Handloom and Handicrafts Expos regularly at different tourist places.
The Minister for Social Welfare, Sakina Itoo was also present on the occasion.
Mr Slathia urged for maintaining quality of handicrafts and to check sale and manufacture of inferior quality handicrafts by the unscrupulous traders, adding that services of law enforcing agencies including tourist, police and J&K Police need to be utilized for the purpose. He called for preserving artistic heritage of branded Kashmiri products like Poshmina shawls and Kani shawls. He said Government has established a quality control laboratory in the Craft Development Institute to check quality of handicrafts.
Mr Slathia said handloom and handicrafts are the reliable cottage industries which provides livelihood to a large chunk of population in the state. He asked the officers of Handloom and Handicrafts Departments to provide artisan credit cards to the weavers to facilitate them avail hassle free loan facility from the Banking Institutions.
Apart from a large number of weavers and tourists, the Commissioner Secretary Industries and Commerce, Shanatmanu, Director Industries and Commerce, Kashmir Mehraj-ud-Din Kenoo, Director, Handicrafts, Muzaffar Hussain, Managing Director Handloom Development Corporation, Showkat Ali, Managing Director SIDCO, Mauzam and Managing Director SICOP also were present in the occasion.
Earlier, in her welcome address, the Director Handloom Chandra Gupta highlighted achievements made under different developmental schemes which are being implemented for welfare of handloom weavers, artisans of the State and asked weavers, artisans of the State to come and take the benefits of these schemes.
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