At a seminar organized on the occasion of the World Handloom Day at Sarnath, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, the handloom industry weavers gave a call to safeguard the handloom industry so as to sustain the tradition.
Dignitaries stated that today the machine-made fabrics are being marketed under the guise of handloom works, and this has become an issue that is troubling the handloom industry all across the globe. It is also posing a threat to livelihood of several handloom weavers.
The attendees framed a charter of demands to be forwarded to the Union Textiles Minister. The demands include strict observance of GI rules, increasing the number of domestic handloom clusters, setting up of an intellectual property (IP) facilitation centre in Varanasi, promotion of handloom items, steps to safeguard interests of weavers and artisans associated with handloom industry and suitable marketing of handloom items in international fairs and expositions.
Varanasi is amongst the country's biggest handloom weaving clusters, mainly engaged in production of saris, home furnishings, Banaras brocades and other dress materials. A large number of people are engaged in handloom weaving in the area registered under Geographical Indication (GI), either directly or indirectly.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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