Tuesday, 17 January 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Agriculture minister Ganesh Joshi on Monday inaugurated Uttarakhand Silk Federation’s first high-tech electronic jacquard power loom unit at the Growth Centre at Selaqui in Dehradun. He also announced setting up of a second power loom in Dehradun soon which will subsequently double silk production in the State by 2025.He said that the silk federation has sold silk and silk mixed fabrics worth Rs 1.2 crore in the past five to seven years. The federation had set a sales target of Rs 50 lakh for the current financial year and it has already done sales worth about Rs 45 lakh. He said that the federation has provided jacquard handlooms to 149 beneficiaries with the help of the Central Silk Board who are presently being given training to weave silk. He said that such initiatives will promote self employment across the State which will increase the sales of silk in the State too. He said that the federation still produces silk clothes through handlooms but with the setting up of power looms in Selaqui, the production will increase manifold in the State besides employment opportunities for locals. Establishments of power looms will prove to be a milestone in the field of textile production of the State, added Joshi. He informed that the Federation has also decided to take the cocoon production in the state from farm to fashion to strengthen it commercially with the technical support of the State Silk Directorate. He said that the main objective behind the farm to fashion concept is to increase revenue by linking silkworm rearers to commercially beneficial bodies. This initiative will also benefit local silk artisans besides giving an identity to silk and silk mixed fabrics of Uttarakhand at the national and international level, added the minister.
The Sahaspur MLA Sahdev Pundir, chairman of Silk Federation Ajit Chaudhary and others were present on the ocassion.
