A weaver's meet was organised at the National Handloom Expo being organised jointly by the Development Commissioner (Handloom) and Uttarakhand Handloom and Handicrafts Development Council (UHHDC) at the Parade Ground in Dehradun. Weavers from the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand including Mori, Naugaon, Purola, Uttarkashi, Chinka, Dharchula, Munsyari, Bageshwar, and Tehri among other areas participated in the weaver's meet which was also attended by about 100 weavers from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka and Delhi. Those who spoke at the meet stressed on the need for facilitating the benefit of government schemes to the weavers.
Addressing the gathering, the Udyog Mitra Parishad vice chairman Vivekanand Khanduri stressed on the need for drafting schemes keeping the various requirements of weavers in mind. Combined effort should be undertaken to ensure that the benefit of government schemes reaches weavers in remote areas of the State. "According to a survey there are 29,000 weavers in Uttarakhand. This number would increase to about 90,000 if traditional weavers are also counted. This is why a fresh survey is being demanded from the Central Government. This will help in facilitating benefit of governmental schemes to weavers in remote areas," he said. Khanduri also stressed on the need for focusing on the design, colour, technique, marking and export of the State's products.
Additional director, Industry, SC Nautiyal said that the demand for handloom products is rising in India and abroad. Preparing pure handloom products using latest designs and techniques should be the priority of weavers. The State Government has entered into an agreement with the National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad in order to keep weavers abreast of designs and changing market trends, he added.