Guwahati, 06 October (HS): Assam Handloom, Textiles and Sericulture Biswajit Daimari on Tuesday distributed advanced fly-shuttle looms and modern handloom equipment among weavers at a special function held at Bathan Bhatichuba Public Playground in Sualkuchi.

The equipment was distributed under the Mega Handloom Cluster project implemented with the support of the Union Ministry of Textiles under the National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP).

The event was attended by MLA Prakash Chandra Das, Director of Handloom and Textiles Mayuri Ojha, Chief Minister's OSD Hemanta Choudhury, Additional Commissioner of Kamrup Rural Geetashree Lachit, Director of the Weavers' Service Centre, Guwahati, Bishesh Natial, and other officials and local dignitaries. More than 1,000 weavers also attended the programme.

Addressing the gathering, the minister said the mega project aims to combine the traditional skills of Sualkuchi's weavers with modern technology and make the handloom sector more self-reliant. The project has been launched with an estimated budget of around ₹32.41 crore through a joint initiative of the Centre and Assam government.

Under the project, all 4,266 targeted weavers from 68 villages under five gaon panchayats will be covered and provided with one advanced fly-shuttle loom each.

The project also envisages four Common Processing Centres, a modern dye house, garment manufacturing unit, three-storey Computer Aided Textile Design (CATD) studio, sales centre, digital card punching facility, modern yarn dyeing centre and a 150-seat hostel.

A handloom shopping plaza and e-marketing system will also be developed to promote locally produced handloom products in global markets.

According to the department, successful implementation of the project is expected to bring significant economic changes to Sualkuchi. The average daily income of weavers is projected to double, while annual working days are expected to increase from 225 to 305, strengthening livelihoods and boosting the international reach of Assam's traditional silk and home textile products.-----------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash