Weavers finding it hard to deal with sale of fake Kullu shawls
Dipender Manta
Rampant sale of fake Kullu shawls is proving a major challenge for weavers of Kullu district to sustain their economy. It is directly impacting the traditional weaving profession of weavers in Kullu district because fake Kullu shawls are being produced in Ludhiana-made power looms, which is available at economical price compared to genuine Kullu shawl produced in the handlooms here.
In Kullu district, there are around 25,000 weavers engaged in weaving for past several years, but with the passage of time, they are finding it hard to sustain their economy in the handloom sector. Rampant sale of fake Kullu Shawls are a major hurdle for the marketing of genuine Kullu Shawls, which are being prepared with hard labour by weavers in the handloom.
The price of original Kullu Shawl varies from Rs 1,000 to Rs 20,000 depending on its design and labour cost. While the power loom-made shawls are available at half the cost and even less than the original Kullu shawl, which is proving a big blow to weavers of the district as a majority of customers prefer buying cheap products.
The Geographical Indication (GI) mark is mandatory on Kullu shawls, but a majority of tourists visiting Kullu-Manali are unaware about it. They are unaware about the malpractice of local businessmen, who sell their power loom products in the name of Kullu shawls.
Despite stringent law to curb the menace, no one is ready to conduct checks or complain against regular offenders to check the menace. Due to this, fake shawls continue to be sold openly in the district.
According to weavers, there is an urgent need to curb the menace for the growth of handloom sector and the government should keep the handloom sector on its priority list. There should be special teams to conduct surprise checks on regular offenders and take action according to law. They said the handloom sector can generate self-employment opportunities to people of district at their doorstep if the state government works in this direction.
Ramesh Thakur, general manager, Bhuttico Weavers Cooperative Society, said: “The sale of fake Kullu shawls is a major challenge for weavers in Kullu district, which is directly impacting our economy. The local businessmen involved in the illegal practice of selling fake Kullu shawls lure taxi drivers by giving them some commission to bring customers to their shops directly. Tourists who purchase shawls from Kullu or Manali at local shops believe that the product is genuine in every shop here.”
He said despite the GI mark being mandatory for Kullu shawls, there is no strict implementation.
Due to the absence of any mechanism to curb the menace, the sale of fake Kullu shawls is rampant in Kullu district, which is directly affecting the handloom sector.
“The imposition of GST has proved a double whammy for the handloom sector, in which we are forced to pay in two slabs — 5 per cent and 12 per cent — depending on the cost of product, while the textile industry is paying only 5 per cent GST on its product,” he said.
Chetna Thakur, chairperson of Himbunkar, said: “Due to the advent of power looms, the handloom sector is on the edge. It has developed a stiff competition for weavers to prepare the product in good quality and low cost.”
She said the offenders were imitating the design of Kullu shawls and selling these at cheaper rates. The price of Kullu shawls is high as compared to the power-loom products because it takes a lot of time and hard work to prepare the product on a handloom. In Kullu district, total 215 handloom cooperative societies are active in the weaving sector to prepare kullu shawls, caps, stoles and a few other products as per the demand of customers.
The Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE) is the nodal agency, which can curb the menace.
Kunal Satyarthi, joint member secretary HP Council for Science, Technology and Environment said: “We are making efforts to curb the menace. During key occasions, we run special programmes on FM channels to create awareness among tourists about the GI mark of Kullu shawls. We ask tourists to check the GI mark before purchasing Kullu shawls. Apart from this, we are planning to put up hoardings to raise awareness about it. A short video will be prepared about Kullu shawls to raise awareness. He said during key occasions like Christmas and on the eve of New Year, special scroll will be displayed on local channels to create awareness among tourists.”
Satyarthi said the police are authorised to conduct raids and take legal action accordingly.
