HT Correspondent
JORHAT, Sept 28: Silk weavers, entrepreneurs and the public can now put their fears regarding pirated silk products to rest. The soon to come up fabric testing centres in the state will be effective in ensuing that only authentic Assam silk products reach the public.
The Central Silk Board (CSB) under the Union ministry of textiles will set up eight fabric (finished product) testing centres in the state to ensure the purity of the silk and the fabric in a bid to tackle pirated silk products in the market.
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Director of Muga Eri Silkworm Seed Organization (MESSO), CSB Kartik Neog, while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Silk Mark Expo 2023 at Hotel Nikita on Thursday stated that of the eight proposed laboratories four have been sanctioned.
The Silk Mark Expo, 2023 that began on Thursday will continue till October 2. It has been organized by the Silk Mark Organization of India (SMOI).
The expo in which 30 authorized users and government departments are participating, was inaugurated by the Assam Agricultural University (AAU) vice-chancellor, Bidyut Chandan Deka.
Neog said that while two centres were coming up in Guwahati, one will be set up at Bongshar near Sualkuchi in Kamrup district and another at Jorhat district. Neog said that altogether 20 such laboratories would be set up in the northeastern region with eight in Assam under a plan of the CSB.
“In addition to the proposed fabric testing laboratories, one raw material testing laboratory will also come up in the state. The establishing of such laboratories in the region was aimed at detection of pirated silk products in the market and preventing the customers from being duped along with maintaining the goodwill of silk yarns of Assam, which have a unique place in the market,” said Neog.
“Organizing the Silk Mark Expo 2023 in this historic city of Jorhat was a long-standing demand of the entrepreneurs, weavers and general public. It is part of the measures initiated by the CSB to safeguard the purity of silk in the silk industry through introduction of labels, which are not only a mark of purity, but also inspire confidence in the buyers to purchase only the Silk Mark-labeled products,” Neog added.
The CSB has been organizing the Silk Mark expos across the country involving Silk Mark authorized users, who include wearers, manufacturers, NGOs, prominent dealers, exporters and government supported agencies.
Bidyut Chandan Deka said, “Different activities should be undertaken to promote silk products and create awareness amongst the people about pure silk. Organizing such expos across the country would contribute immensely to the growth of the industry.”
The vice-chancellor also offered to provide space at the AAU campus to set up an outlet for silk products.
KM Vajaya Kumari, director of Central Muga Eri Research and Training Institute, CSB, Lahdoigarh, Jorhat, deputy director of SMOI, Guwahati chapter, N Giridhar Srinivas and Lohit Kumar Dutta, professor (Retired) of the department of sericulture of AAU and participants attended the inaugural function.
