Srinagar, May 11: To harness the quality silkworm seed potential in J&K, government is contemplating to modernise and upgrade the seed grainages of the Sericulture Department for the production of disease free Silk worm seeds locally. This was revealed at a high level meeting chaired by the Minister of Agriculture,   Ghulam Hassan Mir today, an official statement said.  The minister, according to the statement, said the state has greater potential to produce world class Silkworm seed. Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production,   Muhammad Iqbal Khandy, Director Extension, SKUAST K, Dr. A.R Trag, Head, Division of Sericulture,  Mirgund, Dr. Alifa Kamili, Director Sericulture, Dr. M.A. Khan and Director, Central Silk Board,   M.A. Khan were present in the meeting. Mir directed Director Sericulture to submit a comprehensive project report for the modernisation of these Grainages so that necessary action would be taken to upgrade its infrastructure on modern lines to boost this sector. He directed to send the dedicated staff for refresher course to Bangalore, batch wise, for the specialised training.
 Stressing the need for greater coordination among the stake holders, the Minister asked the scientists of SKAUST, Director Sericulture, Director Centre Silk Board to work with greater coordination to achieve the desired targets. He said that these efforts would certainly boost the quality seed production in J&K and assured them that Government would provide every assistance to revive this industry. He said that Government is committed to bring back the past glory of the silk industry for which it was known across the globe and added that steps are already taken in this direction by the Department.
 Referring to the deliberation with the Union Minister of Textiles, the Minister said that they are very much proactive for the upgradation of the organisation and it is our responsibility to work in this direction. The Minister appreciated the efforts of the Department for surviving the industry during the turmoil in the state and stressed upon them to work with dedication and zeal to expand its area of network across the state.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 11 May 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 11 May 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 IST