SRINAGAR: The Handicrafts and Handloom Department of Kashmir has issued a stern warning to showroom owners, urging them to refrain from selling machine-made products disguised as authentic Kashmir handmade crafts. The department has cautioned that strict action under the Tourist Trade and Quality Control Acts will be taken against violators.
In a press statement, a department spokesperson revealed that complaints have surfaced about machine-made Turkish carpets being sold as Kashmir hand-knotted carpets, tarnishing the region’s reputation for its rich cultural heritage. “Several showrooms have already been inspected, and unlabelled machine-made products confiscated,” the spokesperson said.
To address the issue, the department’s Central Inspection Squad has been tasked with intensifying inspections of showrooms in Srinagar’s City Centre and prominent tourist destinations such as Gulmarg and Pahalgam. This crackdown aims to curb the sale of counterfeit products marketed as authentic Kashmiri art.
The spokesperson also urged stakeholders to adopt measures like GI tagging, testing, and certification of their products through the Craft Development Institute (CDI) and the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT). These steps, they noted, will ensure customer satisfaction and safeguard the cultural and artistic legacy of Kashmir.
The department has rolled out plans to enhance the testing and certification capabilities of handmade products, particularly at the Pashmina Testing and Quality Certification Centre at CDI. Simultaneously, awareness campaigns are being conducted locally and nationally to encourage customers to purchase labelled handmade products to protect the authenticity of Kashmir’s crafts.
