Handloom & Textile department turns into white elephant

Gamosa production in the State touched a low in the fincial year 2014-15 due to fund crunch, following which the State had to import gamosas from outside.

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, May 3: The directorate of Handloom and Textile of the State responsible for production and promotion of gamosa and muga is in a very poor state. Providing assistance to handloom weavers is now a thing of past. The department is in fact uble to safeguard its own property.

Gamosa production in the State touched a low in the fincial year 2014-15 due to fund crunch, following which the State had to import gamosas from outside. The tall claims made by the State government seem to have little impact on ground realities.

Before every Rongali Bihu, the State government has been urging that gamosas from outside should not be imported. It has also talked about banning import of gamosas, but following low production, the people are left with no other option.

On the other hand, many hectares of department land are now under encroachment, whereas in some places these are lying vacant without any production. In Lakhimpur district, 9 hectares of department land has been encroached upon, whereas in Kamrup district, around 5 hectares are under encroachment. But the Handloom and Textile department has hardly taken any initiative to free its encroached land.

Moreover, the department is now on the verge of collapse due to shortage of staff.  Earlier master roll workers were taking care of the small needs of the department, but now their numbers have come down to around 650 from 1,200 in 2005.

It may be mentioned that the Handloom and Textile departments had been merged long back, but still there are two separate directorates for the concerned departments. Sources said that this has led to a lack of coordition and much confusion in the department.

Despite all these problems, the department did little to revive its fortunes this year during the festive season. Instead, its officials were seen busily distributing yarn and blankets in the run-up to the Assembly election.

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