GUWAHATI: The Kamrup (
Metro) district administration has set up five teams in each circle office to crack down on machine-made gamosa ahead of Rongali Bihu.
The Handloom (Reservation of Articles for Production) Act, 1985, mandates gamosa and similar traditional items should only be made in handlooms. The teams, headed by circle officers, have already seized more than 150 such gamosa from
Fancy Bazaar and Chandrapur.
"We are discouraging the sale of machine-made gamosa ahead of Bihu. Squads formed by the district administration have intensified their operations in all areas. A number of such products have been seized till now. We will take action against the traders," deputy commissioner
Virendra Mittal said. "Samples of the machine-made gamosa we seize will be sent for a laboratory check by the handloom and textile department. We will take proper action after that,"
Mittal added.
The administration has also issued mobile numbers - 9864056340, 9864054288 and 8638049231- to lodge complaints if anyone finds machine-made gamosa in the market.
At Rs 50 per piece, machine-made gamosa are much cheaper than the hand-made ones, which cost around Rs 100.
"If the administration adopts strict measures, I don't think any trader would dare violate the norms. Otherwise, a section will try to pass off machine-made gamosa. It's a welcome move on the government's part to safeguard local artisans and weavers," said a city trader.
