Hyderabad: Government urged to look at tax imposed on handloom says Bina Rao

Jubilee Hills: The World Handicrafts Council (WHC) member Bina Rao has urged the government to look at the tax structure imposed on the handlooms sector.

Addressing the inaugural of the two-day event with an aim to spread message #MyHandloomsMyPride here on Saturday, Rao said that weavers were burdened with the tax on raw materials such as yarn, dyes, looms and finished products.

Over 3,000 people enthusiastically participated in the event. The show attracted many well-known fashion designers and handloom fans. Weave India, an initiative to support weavers and promote handlooms, concluded here at Roots College of Design, Film and Media, on a positive note that youngsters, millennial pursuing fashion designing gaining more insight into arts and crafts that are extinction.

A luminary of the Indian Handloom Sector, Rao, addressed and inspired a gathering of fashion designers, design students, weavers and fans of handloom fabric. She said that the government must make the export process easy. The foreign trade office should have simpler norms for receiving foreign remittances against exports. "To sell our handloom products, the world is the market," she stated.

"This is the time for corporate houses to genuinely use their CSR funds to rejuvenate the handloom sector, Rao, co-founders of Creative Bee, a well-known design studio, that has designed for some of the top fashion and lifestyle labels in the country and multi-store retail giants around the world, said. "Ikkat has become the victim of the digital trend". She wondered why traditional skills are being copied in digital.

"The National Handloom Day was my initiative recommended to the Centre and I am happy that it is now widely observed," she expressed.

Shravan Kumar, fashion designer of Shravan Studio, a true fashionista with an unparalleled command of the latest trends and styles, and Aravind Jashua, fashion, costume and crafts designer of Thrithvaa Khaadi were guests of honour.

Arvind said, "Khadi and handlooms can't survive without your active involvement. People love talking about khadi and handloom, but when the time comes to pay for the fabric they go back and make excuse that it is a cheap fabric. India still has a tradition of weaving unlike many nations". "Handloom is neither religion nor a business, but it is a religion for me," Kumar added.

Chairman of Roots Collegium BP Padala said that 18 weavers from Venkatagiri, Mangalagiri, Narayanpet, Gollabhama, Gadwal, Kalamkari were taking part, besides Muslin weavers from West Bengal.

Mutha Prerna Kirthi, center head, Roots College said, "On National Handloom Day, we would like to salute all those associated with our vibrant handloom and handicrafts sector".