J&K Govt warns traders to desist from selling machine-made handicrafts to tourists

J&K Govt warns traders to desist from selling machine-made handicrafts to tourists

 

Srinagar, Jan 20: The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Monday warned traders and the showroom owners to desist from selling machine-made items in the garb of genuine handmade Kashmir handicrafts to the tourists.

The Handicrafts and Handloom Department Kashmir have warned those found selling machine made items in the garb of handmade items will face strict action under the ambit of Tourist Trade and Quality Control Act.

In a press statement issued here today, a spokesperson from the Handicrafts and Handloom Department stated that several complaints have been received by the department wherein machine-made Turkish carpets have been sold to tourists and other buyers in the name of Kashmir hand-knotted carpets, thus bringing a bad name to the rich heritage of Kashmir.

“Acting swiftly, several showrooms are being inspected and unlabelled machine-made products confiscated,” he said.

The Central Inspection Squad from the Quality Control wing of the Department has been directed to intensify inspections of various showrooms in Srinagar City Centre and en-route health resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam, besides other locations to crackdown on traders engaged in sale of counterfeit products, branded as hand-made Kashmir Art.

In order to promote sale of exquisite hand-made products, the spokesperson urged the stakeholders to approach the Handicrafts & Handloom Department for ‘GI’ tagging, testing and certification of their products at CDI & IICT (Craft Development Institute, and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology or Institute of Information and Communication Technology), reaching out to the customer satisfaction and safeguarding rich heritage of Kashmir.

“The department has worked out a plan to significantly increase the capacity of testing and certification of hand-made products especially at Pashmina Testing and Quality Certification Centre at CDI,” he said, adding that various IEC campaigns are currently running at local as well as national level to motivate the customers to insist upon buying labelled hand-made products.

UNI

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