Announcing the setting up of urban haats in the state to boost production of handloom products, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said the handloom industry will act as an important tool to overcome economic backwardness.
In the concluding ceremony of the handloom expo at Parade Ground here on Saturday evening, Bahuguna said the budgetary allocations for the sector would also be increased. Bahuguna also emphasised on the use of better designs and technology. However, he did not give any time frame for setting up the urban haats. The decision on urban haats was taken during the regime of N D Tiwari more than a decade ago.
Expressing happiness over the Rs 5-crore business in the expo, Bahuguna said the handloom sector could play a major role in the development of the rural areas.
Welcoming artists from other states and areas, the CM said: "We get to learn a lot from each other and such expos are a great shopping destination and help shoppers pick from wide options." He stated that there was a great demand for Indian handicrafts abroad.
The CM said nine handloom clusters at Chinka (Chamoli), Manglore, Imlikherha-Mohanpura (Haridwar), Dharchula, Musyari, Ghatibagad (Pitthorgarh), Dunda (Uttarkashi) and Kalsi and Vikakas Nagar (Dehradun) have been approved his administration. He also felicitated few stall owners on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, state MSME Minister Harish Chandra Durgapal said the rural economy was dependent on the handloom industry. "Such expos help small businessmen. Handloom is our identity and thus the state government will make constant efforts to create employment opportunities out of it.," Durgapal added.
Shailesh Bagoli, director, MSME departments, said the expo, which began on December 22, had participants from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Jammu Kashmir, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand. Twenty free stalls were allotted out of the total 150 stalls to those coming from disaster-affected areas.
Also present on the occasion were Secretary MSME Ajay Pradhyot and Additional Secretary MSME Kishan Nath among others.
