Chennai, July 14(BPNS)
The Tamil Nadu state handloom department is on a mission to promote the handloom among all income groups of the state and to scout for international markets.
Chief Minister, M.K.Stalin had on Tuesday met the state Minister for Handlooms and Textiles, R Gandhi, and the state Minister for Rural Industries, T.M.Anbarasan, and held a review meeting on the position of the handlooms in the state. He has directed the department to conduct a massive publicity campaign on the Tamil Nadu handloom and to promote the brand Co-optex among the younger generation of the state.
It is to be noted that the government of Tamil Nadu has already directed its employees to wear handloom clothes twice a week to promote the products.
The department is already in the process of roping in a few advertisement agencies for publicity of the product and is in discussion with renowned designers to develop a new brand that would be attractive to the high-income groups as well as the younger generation.
The government of Tamil Nadu has already allocated an amount of Rs 1000 crore for increasing silk production in the state and a slew of measures for this is in the pipeline.
Sources in the state handloom department told IANS that the minister has communicated with the officials to scout for international buyers and to have a footmark of Tamil Nadu handloom in global markets. The idea, according to the officials is to mainly target the Tamil diaspora spread across the world and slowly move on to get international business purely on the basis of quality and design of the material.
The DMK had in its election manifesto of 2021 pledged that it would bring the weaving community out of misery and the steps taken to improve the handloom sale is considered as the first step taken by the Chief Minister to uplift the ailing handloom sector of the state.
Muthukumaran, a weaver from Kannyakurmai district of Tamil Nadu who have been a weaver since the period of forefathers while speaking to IANS said, “The steps taken by the government is welcome but there should be a logical end to these and should not drop midway through. We are in the doldrums following Covid as well as the lack of interest in handloom products, moreover, the time consumed for making a product is not considered while it is priced and this gives us very little returns on our efforts.”
With the government taking steps to increase the production of handloom and to popularize the product, there are possibilities of a revival of the sector thus bringing light in the lives of weavers who are in the marginalized sector.
