October 19, 2013
West Bengal to get Powerloom Park at Belur
With a significant number of handloom weavers switching over to the powerloom sector for higher returns, the State Micro and Small Scale Enterprises Department is set to come up with a mega powerloom park to provide technical support to the poor weavers and create scope for marketing their products.
The park will come up in Belur. Currently, there is a huge demand for fabrics woven on powerlooms in the state, since these are cheaper than the handloom items. Powerloom is a machine operated mechanism. But, most of the powerloom woven fabrics are supplied by other states. Maharashtra is one of the major suppliers in Bengal.
Powerlooms in the state are mainly used for stitching purpose. Few powerloom owners have units in Serampore, Dhaniakhali, Basirhat and Siliguri, but work was not done on a large scale until now; things are set to change in the coming days.
According to the proposal, four units will be set up in the park for fibre processing, printing and dyeing. The park will also possess a common service centre to help weavers undergo quality checks and help them with designs. The Centre will help weavers to sell their products as well; marketing of finished goods has been a concern for the poor weavers since long. Again, training will also be provided to them for upgrading their skills.
This apart, a common natural fibre centre will be set up under the National Fibre Mission on Public Private Partnership mode and the department has approached industrial firms for the same.
Initially, the government will assist in developing infrastructure of the park and will also run it for some time, said an official of the department.
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