School of Design at Kashmir Haat to be inaugurated soon

Live demonstration of Kashmiri crafts be placed in SoD

Minister for Industries & Commerce, Mr. Surjit Singh Slathia today visited Kashmir Haat and took stock of the pace of work of School of Design (SoD) which will be shortly inaugurated by the Chief Minister. The School of Design and Export Development centre is being constructed under centrally sponsored scheme ASIDE at a cost of Rs. 7.28 crore.
The Minister was accompanied by Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce, Mr. Anil Goswami, Director, Handicrafts, Mr. Showkat Ahmad Zargar, Director, Industries Kashmir, Mr. Farooq Ahmad and other senior officers of the department.
During the visit, the Minister took round of the various section of the Craft museum showcasing the master pieces of Kashmiri crafts. He said the designs should be properly documented and also put on official website. This would help in boosting the traditional crafts of the State, he added.
The Minister also interacted with the artisans of Tapestry, Carpet, Embroidery, Kani, Willow, Wood-carving, Turning, Metal and Paper machie and stressed them to keep this traditional heritage live for which Kashmir is known in the global market. He said that government is committed to provide all sort of assistance to the artisans of the state and stressed that the middleman ship be ended which is the main hurdle for the upliftment of this community.
Taking a strong note of de-shaping of landscape of Kashmir Haat, Mr. Slathia directed Director Handicrafts to deploy additional men power with collaboration of Department of Floriculture to restore the landscape up to September 30th positively. He also directed to renovate other infrastructure and lighting system in the Haat during this period. He said that he would personally monitor the renovation work every day.
Director, Handicrafts apprised the Minister about the significance of School of Designs and gave a detailed resume of the historical background of the different designs of the traditional Kashmiri crafts which are showcased in the School. He said that the live demonstration of the Kashmiri crafts would be placed in the School.