Himachal's shawl industry enters Guinness Book for largest display of pieces

Himachal Pradeshs traditional shawl industry on Saturday made its way into the Guinness Book of World Records for displaying more than 4000 handwoven pieces under one roof at the MSME Fest in Shimla chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu saidInaugurating the threeday micro small medium enterprises MSME Fest at the Ridge here Sukhu said the achievement has brought global recognition to the states handloom productsHe said selfhelp groups and other entrepreneurs from different districts created the shawls all of which were handcrafted in Khadi with each exhibit carrying handloom certifications and GI taggingThese are products of traditional weavers from almost every district including Kullu Kinnaur Chamba Kangra and Sirmaur known for carrying a legacy of intricate patterns and multiple colours and have existed for hundreds of years and in Kinnaur the weavers take seven to eight months or even a year to create one shawl Sukhu saidHe said representatives of reputed national and international companies visiting the state during the fest would provide opportunities to artisans weavers and small entrepreneurs to directly showcase and market their products to global buyersFestival coordinator Anjana Thakur said that the handmade shawls were brought from all across the state and displayed under one roofIn Kinnaur the weavers take seven to eight months or even a year to create one shawl The highestpriced shawl from Kinnaur showcased at the festival is worth Rs 175 lakh Thakur saidThe entire Kullu district and the remote interior mountain pockets of Mandi are popular hubs of the weaving industry with women being the biggest stakeholdersTraditionally during winters when Kullu Kinnaur Mandi and LahaulSpiti used to be snowbound and cut off from the rest of the country families would devote their time to weaving on looms to make patti or pattu from natural wool with white grey and black colours for clothing shawls and coats for personal useKullu shawls have held a GI tag since 2004 helping traditional weavers protect the authenticity of the craft and link it to its regionThe chief minister said the event will set a new direction for MSMEs in Himachal Pradesh He noted that in the last three years the state government held meetings with investors in major industrial hubs such as Dubai Japan and Mumbai resulting in the signing of Memorandums of Understanding worth Rs 5000 croreHe said 683 industrial projects worth Rs 14000 crore have been approved which are expected to generate employment opportunities for around 32000 peopleWith a view to strengthening the MSMEs in rural areas proposals worth Rs 1642 crore have been submitted to the central government out of which Rs 10934 crore has been approved so far and 107 startups have been launched in the State during the past three years he said in a statementThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever