GUWAHATI, April 8 - In a bid to defend the State�s handloom sector against the onslaught of the powerloom sector of other states, the Directorate of Handloom and Textiles here is holding seven-day long �Gamosa Melas� at the district and subdivisional headquarters all over the State.
These melas (fairs) are aimed also at boosting the morale of the State�s weavers engaged in the handloom sector. The events that started yesterday will continue till April 13.
Additional Director of the State Handloom and Textiles Mizanur Rahman told this newspaper that people would be able to buy genuine handloom products, including the gamosas at reasonable prices from the stalls provided by the Directorate to the weavers. This way, they would be able to avoid the con men who usually deceive the gullible people with powerloom products.
The handloom products being sold in the Gamosa Mela counters are the genuine products of the State�s weavers and the range of these products is admirable, said Rahman.
He informed further that during the past two years, over 2,000 weavers of the State have benefited from the Directorate�s scheme for supplying yarn at a 20 per cent subsidised rate.
The Directorate has 20 yearn banks at Dhubri, Morigaon, Dhemaji, Nagaon, North Lakhimpur, Mangaldoi, Goalpara, Abhayapuri, Nalbari, Barpeta, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Karimganj, Silchar, Golaghat, Sualkuchi and Tezpur. Altogether, 85,000 yarn passbooks have been issued to the individual weavers so far. The State has over 14 lakh weavers.
The State�s weavers and artisans� apex cooperative federation, which is popularly known as the ARTFED, is the implementing agency for the above scheme, Rahman said.
