Fawzul Kabiir, the owner of GR8 bats is thrilled after the Central federal government consisted of the Kashmiri willow bats in the recently modified list of handicrafts.
“It will assist our craftsmens to get various federal government plans”, stated Kabiir, who is likewise the president of Cricket Bat Manufacturers Association of Kashmir.
The Ministry of Textiles released a modified list of craft classifications for the function of issuance/ renewal of Pehchan ID cards. The craft classifications were categorized into 9 primary classifications and 36 sub classifications, covering an overall of 455 crafts, practicing throughout the nation. The Pehchan plan, introduced in 2016, intended at supplying a brand-new identity to handicraft craftsmens, making sure that the advantages of different plans reach deserving artisans.
The willow bat makers of the Kashmir valley have actually long been promoting for the classification of the Kashmiri willow cricket bats as ‘handicraft’.
“It was an enduring need of numerous craftsmens related to the heritage bat market”, stated Kabiir.
Director Handloom and Handicrafts Kashmir Mehmood Ahmad Shah informedbusinesslinethat the hand-made bat makers might now have the ability to obtain different rewards used by the Central federal government under various plans. The designated handmade craftsmens are gained from the plans like National Handicraft Development Programme (NHDP) and Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS).
The market
The century old Kashmiriwillow bat market, valued at 700 crore, supplies income to more than 10,000 individuals throughout the area.
The market, consisting of over 400 bat producing systems, is dealing with difficulties on a host of counts consisting of smuggling of wood clefts from outdoors Kashmir, absence of spices center and decreasing variety of willows trees.
The federal government enforced a blanket restriction on transfer of willow clefts from Kashmir, the smuggling continues unabated.
“Over the last couple of years, the market suffered terribly due to federal government disregard”, stated a bat maker.
He stated that the handcrafted bats are extremely valued, however absence of assistance prevented development and affected the income of lots of craftsmens.
Promote GI tagging
To protect the native bat market, the bat makers are promoting for the GI (Geographical Indication) tagging.
Shah stated that the Jammu and Kashmir federal government was promoting the GI tagging, which would assist secure the credibility and individuality of the Kashmiri willow bats.