Assam govt mulls lab to check yarn quality

GUWAHATI: The Assam handloom and textile department is planning to rope in the Assam Textile Institute to set up a lab to check the quality of the yarn used in gamosa and mekhela-sadors along with other handloom products and whether the products are handloom or powerloom produced.
Assam sends samples to Kolkata for testing as the state does not have a testing lab to date. Handloom and textile department director Parag Mahanta said the state is going to get a lab soon with the consent of the textile institute to play the role of expert. “The lab is in planning stage.
Once set up, it will help detect powerloom gamosas and mekhela-sadors that are transported from outside the state and sold at a cheaper rate in the state, which has harmed local weavers,” he added.
He added that the department cannot file FIRs with the police against the traders who sell powerloom gamosas and mekhela-sadors defying the department’s order as a certificate from a testing lab is necessary to lodge the complaint. “It takes several days for us to get a certificate from a lab as we have to send the sample to Kolkata for testing. Therefore, we can only seize such products if they are being sold by any trader. We cannot take any action,” he added.
The state government on February 28 issued an order banning the powerloom gamosas and mekhela-sadors from outside the state, particularly from Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, with effect from March 1 in a bid to uplift the local handloom industry, which is dying.
The deputy commissioners and the SPs of all the districts were directed to initiate immediate steps to seize powerloom products from March 1. In the past month, the department has procured nearly two lakh gamosas and mekhela-sadors from local handloom weavers.