Srinagar, July 20: Minister for Industries and Commerce S S Slathia today inaugurated a special handloom expo-2011 at picturesque tourist destination, Pahalgam.
 The expo to continue till August 3 shall provide an opportunity to the tourists and yatris to purchase world famous handloom and handicraft products at their yatra base camp Pahalgam.
 Inauguration of the expo coincides with the on-going Amarnath Yatra. The artisans from all over the state and some neighboring states have put on exhibition-cum-sale their products at about 40 stall established at the expo, an official statement said.
 The special expo has been organized by the Directorate of Handloom department and sponsored by Development Commissioner, Handloom, Union Ministry of Textiles.
 Speaking on the occasion, the Minister reiterated government’s resolve to provide congenial atmosphere for industries and commerce sector to groom and flourish in the state. He said all the available resources are being pooled to provide better marketing cover to the artisans to enable them fetch better remuneration of their products. “Organizing this special expo at Pahalgam is a step towards that endeavour”, Slathia added.
 Slathia said such expos provide a platform to the artisans to showcase their products in an organized form, adding that such expos shall be organized at district, state and national levels.  He asked the artisans to avail the benefits of the incentives available under various welfare schemes. “We are providing soft loans with subsidy to the artisans, besides insurance and medical cover”, he added. 
 The Minister said Handloom Development Corporation has recently launched online sale of handloom products which shall boost the export of handloom and handicraft products manifolds in near future. He announced that in future such expo shall be organized at various tourist destinations with the onset of tourist season, adding that the main focus shall be to promote handmade handicrafts.
 Elaborating government initiatives about promotion of handicrafts in the state, Slathia said the monthly stipend for handicrafts training at various Government Training Centres has been enhanced from Rs 200 to Rs 700 per trainee. He announced that trained handicrafts youth shall be given priority in government jobs. He said government has adopted cluster approach to develop area specific handicrafts and handlooms in different parts of the state.
 In his welcome address, the Director Handicrafts said that the department shall organize a national level handloom expo and district level expos at Srinagar, Leh, Jammu and Budgam during the current year adding that the department has earned a revenue of about Rs 4.75 crore by organizing a national level handloom expo at Jammu and three district level expose during the last fiscal.
 A large number of tourists, yatris and locals visited the handloom stalls and evinced keen interest on the artifacts put on sale at the expo.
 A variety cultural programme for entertainment of the tourists and yatris was also organized on the occasion.
 The function was attended by legislators Rafi Ahmad Mir, B A Veeri, Director, Handcrafts Muzaffar Hussain, Director, Industries and Commerce Mehraj-ud-Din Kinoo, Managing Director, SIDCO Mauzam, Managing Director, Handloom Corporation Showkat Ahmad, Managing Director, JK Cements Mustaq Ahmad, Managing Director, JKI Javid Iqbal, Joint Director Handlooms, Javed Shah besides a large number of handloom weavers, handicraft artisans, tourists and yatris.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST