10 April 2023, Mumbai
Clothing stores are preparing for Bihu as clients look for fashion statements in Guwahati, Assam. Due to the ban on power loom mekhala chadors, clothing stores are stocking up on handloom goods, but some merchants are resentful since it puts more pressure on them to get rid of manufactured items.
The government has recommended harsh measures be adopted from March 1 to restrict the production of power loom items. Around 70% of stores are happy with this decision despite a small fall in sales.
However, there is still a problem with retailers continuing to sell machine-woven goods, passing them off as hand-woven and defrauding customers. Due to the lack of a laboratory throughout the state, the Department of Handloom and Textiles cannot act against business people who glut the market with power loom items.
There are a total of 102 handloom and textile training centers all across Assam, and recently even emporium store owners have made the decision to bring young people from rural areas to their factories in order to provide training to budding artists and update skills in the handloom industry.
