JAMMU: The 9th National Handloom Day was today celebrated by the Directorate of Handicrafts & Handloom here at Handicrafts Showroom Janipur under the guidance of Commissioner/Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, J&K Vikramjeet Singh.
Secretary in Industry & Commerce Department, Smita Sethi was the chief guest at the event hosted on the direction of Dr. Vikas Gupta Director Handicrafts and Handloom, Jammu and under the overall supervision of Joint Director, Handloom, Pardeep Singh Manhas.
In her address, Smita Sethi highlighted the contribution of artisans and weavers towards society. She further hailed the government for honouring the weaver community on the 9th National Handloom Day. She talked about the historical aspects of the Handloom products and the relevance of these products to culture and customs of Indian society. The aim of celebrating the National Handloom day is to protect this vast and rich heritage and to empower the weavers/artisans.
The Chief Guest appreciated the Directorate of Handicrafts & Handloom, Jammu for putting in extraordinary efforts to work in coordination with the weavers and bringing the traditional crafts on national and international levels.
Joint Director Handloom, Pradeep Singh Manhas, Joint Director Handicrafts, Tilak Raj, Deputy Director (Adm), Parveen Akhter, Deputy Director (Plg), Megha Boagia, Assistant Director, Handloom Jammu and other senior officers/officials besides artisans/weavers community attended the event.
The Joint Director Handloom highlighted the importance of celebrating the day and the significance of weavers in building a self-reliant society. He encouraged the weavers associated with the Department to enhance their production capacities to compete with the machine-made items in terms of quality and cost effectiveness.
Stalls of various Handloom products were also exhibited on the occasion. The artisans/weavers also discussed some of the issues related to the provision of a suitable market and to determine the unique selling point of chosen Jammu Handicrafts and Handloom goods in order to make the activity sustainable. On the occasion, Appreciation Certificates were also distributed amongst the weavers.