Thursday, August 30, 2007

Good times ahead for Eastern weavers

The Government has embarked on a large-scale programme to revive the handloom industry in the East under the Eastern Reawakening Programme.

Nine hundred handlooms will be developed for the benefit of over 2,500 weavers in the Ampara, Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts after a lapse of many decades.

Textile Industry Development Minister Jayatissa Ranaweera told the Daily News a survey was conducted to ascertain the number of weavers in the East.

This programme also envisages the introduction of the Tara loom machine. The Ministry will provide them training, financial support and explore market avenues for their products, the Minister said.

This revival will create many jobs in the province. “The liberation of the East is a great achievement. It has ensured the development of the people. We are in the process of developing textile industry in the area to once again provide the people with their main livelihood,” Ranaweera said. “We expect to meet the local and foreign demand for textiles by adopting the latest technology in manufacture,” he said.

The Minister said handloom weavers in the East have been long deprived of their livelihood and they will now be able to function on par with the rest of the weavers.

No comments: