Don’t pass off machine-made products as hand-made: Govt to handicraft dealers

J&K Handicrafts and Handloom Department on Monday warned showroom owners dealing with hand-made craft products to desist from selling machine-made items in the garb of genuine handmade products, failing which strict action under the ambit of Tourist Trade and Quality Control Acts shall be initiated.

In an official statement, a spokesperson from the Handicrafts and Handloom Department stated that several complaints have been received by the department wherein machine-made Turkish carpets have been sold to tourists and other buyers in the name of Kashmir hand-knotted carpets, thus bringing a bad name to the rich heritage of Kashmir.

“Acting swiftly, several showrooms are being inspected and unlabelled machine-made products confiscated,” he said.

The spokesman further stated that the central inspection squad from the Quality Control Wing of the Department has been directed to intensify inspections of various showrooms in Srinagar City Centre and en route tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam, besides other locations to crack down on traders engaged in sale of counterfeit products, branded as hand-made Kashmir art.

In order to promote sale of exquisite hand-made products, the spokesperson urged the stakeholders to approach the Handicrafts & Handloom Department for GI tagging, testing and certification of their products at CDI & IICT, reaching out to the customer satisfaction and safeguarding the rich heritage of Kashmir.

“The department has worked out a plan to significantly increase the capacity of testing and certification of hand-made products, especially at Pashmina Testing and Quality Certification Centre at CDI,” the spokesperson said.