Srinagar, Apr 11: Director, Handicrafts and Handloom, Kashmir on Tuesday held a meeting to deliberate upon the modalities of setting up of a Wool Bank under Integrated Wool Development Programme implemented by the Central Wool Development Board, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
The meeting was held to devise a viable framework for setting up of the much needed Wool Bank in the Kashmir region of UT of J&K. It was emphasized in the meeting that the wool is the only raw material that is available in abundance in J&K and can support a large industrial setup and can be a viable source of livelihood to lakhs of herders, weavers, Societies and Self Help Groups (SHGs) associated with this sector.
It was also acknowledged that the intended project shall go in a long way to improve the socio-economic conditions among the shepherds and their families associated with wool production by increased wages and announcing MSP for the wool. The initiative aims to provide critical marketing support for stakeholders associated with the production and processing of wool fiber by making it readily available at standard prices.
There was an elaborate discussion about the possible value addition practices in the wool processing sector and importance of having a robust ecosystem in wool processing industry consisting of well-established forward and backward linkages for the procurement of raw wool, grading, standardization, marketing and processing of wool vis-à-vis scouring, carding, felting, spinning, dyeing etc. It was recognized that the considerable wool production amalgamated with the installation of processing units would result in bolstering the UT economy.
Moreover, it was also given out that the Directorate would look into the possible convergence opportunities with other line departments working for the development of the wool sector which includes Sheep Husbandry Department, Tribal Affairs Department, SKUAST-K and shall focus on synergized efforts for better implementation and result oriented output.
The Department of Handicrafts and Handloom, Kashmir in the first instance is planning to procure raw wool, which shall be processed (Scouring/Carding/Spinning) at its UNDP (Handloom Project) facility at Baghi-Ali-Mardan Khan, Srinagar and further the processed wool shall be supplied to its 200 Training Centers and registered Societies operating in different districts besides supplying it to the carpet clusters for manufacturing of final value-added products.
The meeting was attended by Joint Director, Handicrafts Kashmir, Deputy Director UNDP (Handloom Project) besides other officers from Sheep Husbandry Department and SKUAST-K.
