Indian govt sets up panel to solve issues of Assam weavers

08 May '13

2 min read

The Government of India has constituted a state-level committee for addressing the grievances of Assam weavers. This information was given by Minister of State for Textiles Panabaaka Lakshmi in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, according to the SME Times.

The Minister informed that the officials of Assam Handlooms and Textile Department and National Handloom Development Corporation recently held a meeting to review the problems faced by the weavers in the state and also to probe into the contentions raised by them with regard to silk yarn supply to different depot operating agencies.

Replying to a query, Mrs. Lakshmi said there were no plans to ban or restrict trade of handloom products from outside Assam in the state.

The Geographical Indications of Goods (GIG) (Registration and Protection) Act promulgated by the Government in 1999, not only extends legal protection to geographical indications of the products, but also bars unauthorised use of these products by others.

Last month, Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG), a voluntary organization based in the city of Guwahati, had sought help for weavers and other textile industry affiliates in Sualkuchi - one of the world’s largest weaving villages, where the entire population is engaged in weaving silk fabrics from the traditional Assamese silk variety ‘muga’.

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