SRINAGAR, Jan 20: The Handicrafts and Handloom Department of Kashmir has issued a warning to showroom owners engaged in the sale of handmade craft products. They are urged to refrain from selling machine-made items as if they were authentic handmade goods. Failure to comply will result in strict measures under the Tourist Trade and Quality Control Acts.
In an official statement released today, a spokesperson for the department indicated that multiple complaints have surfaced regarding the sale of machine-made Turkish carpets misrepresented as Kashmir’s hand-knotted carpets, tarnishing the region’s rich craft heritage. “In response, inspections of several showrooms are underway, and unlabelled machine-made items are being confiscated,” he noted.
Additionally, the spokesperson mentioned that the Central Inspection Squad from the Quality Control branch has been instructed to enhance inspections across various showrooms in the Srinagar City Centre as well as routes leading to health resorts in Gulmarg and Pahalgam to combat traders selling counterfeit products falsely claimed to be handmade Kashmir Art.
To encourage the sale of exquisite handmade products, the spokesperson invited stakeholders to seek GI tagging, testing, and certification for their items from the Handicrafts & Handloom Department at CDI & IICT. This initiative aims to enhance customer satisfaction while preserving Kashmir’s rich heritage.
“The department has devised a strategy to significantly expand testing and certification capabilities for handmade products, particularly at the Pashmina Testing and Quality Certification Centre at CDI,” he added. He also mentioned that various Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaigns are currently ongoing at both local and national levels to motivate customers to insist on purchasing labelled handmade products.
