Assam Has Highest Concentration of Handloom Weavers: Darshana Jardosh

NEW DELHI: The Minister of State for Textiles has confirmed that the Northeastern State of Assam has the highest concentration of handloom weavers in the country on Friday, December 9.

Pabitra Margherita, one of the Rajya Sabha members who is affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata Party from the state of Assam had up a question in the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament of India. The three-part question was regarding the handloom weavers of Assam to the Minster of Textiles.

His first question was if Assam has the highest number of handloom weavers in the country. The second question is if imported power loom products are imitating the traditional motifs and designs of the country, which hurts the traditional weavers of the country. He cited the Assamese Gamocha as an example. His third question was about the steps taken by the Government of India in regard to the safeguarding of weavers and other handloom workers.

The question was answered by Darshana Jardosh, the Minister of State for Textiles in India. She confirmed that Assam indeed had the largest concentration of weavers in the country. She quoted that as per the 4th Handloom Census that was conducted in 2019-20, the state had a total number of 1283881 handloom weavers and allied workers.

Answering the remaining questions, she said that steps are being taken to prevent the counterfeiting of handloom products. The minister said, "Some instances of powerloom products imitating traditional hand-woven products have been reported. To protect the interest of handloom workers, of India has promulgated Handlooms (Reservation of Articles for Production) Act, 1985. 11 textiles articles with some technical specifications are exclusively reserved for production on handlooms. Powerloom inspections are carried out in field formations by respective State Handloom Departments and field officers of the Central Government for enforcing the provisions of the Act."

Also Read: Assam: Sualkuchi Weavers Body Claim Counterfeit Clothes Sold As Original

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