GUWAHATI: The Assam government has formally started buying conventional hand-woven textiles as part of the "Swanirbhar Naari" programme of the Directorate of Handloom and Textile, which aims to strengthen the weaving community.
According to a formal release from the Chief Minister's Office, the relevant portal has received registrations for almost 4.8 lakh female weavers from all over the State. The 1000 procurement centres that were established will thereafter be where these women will market their goods.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, said that the move to purchase handwoven goods directly from weavers would help defend the State's traditional handloom sector from the power loom business while speaking at the inaugural event in Guwahati.
The handloom industry, which Chief Minister Sarma described as an art form that represents the Assamese cultural identity, has suffered greatly as a result of the flood of cheaper power loom-made goods flooding the market, he said, quoting Gandhi's well-known phrase, "Assamese women weave dreams on their looms."
The Chief Minister said that there were sizable domestic and foreign markets for Assamese handloom items and claimed that this procurement drive will help the State's handloom sector gain the upper hand over the power loom sector.
According to Sarma, the "Swanirbhar Naari" initiative will give the weavers a sense of financial stability because it ensures a return on their time and resource inputs.
State ministers as well as Handloom and Textile Minister UrkhaoGwra Brahma were present at the ceremony.
The Handloom (Reservation of Articles for Production) Act of 1985, which forbids the manufacture and sale of 11 items made with power looms and whose production has been reserved exclusively for the handloom sector, was also mentioned by Chief Minister Sarma as an example of how the government would enforce the handloom laws of the land.
Governmental organisations would start a campaign to prevent products meant for the handloom sector from being made on power looms.
The Chief Minister also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using the Assamese hand-woven Gamusa in a variety of formal domestic and international events, which helped to popularise it. The Geographical Indication badge that the gamusa recently obtained would greatly increase its popularity.
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