Small-scale industries urge Centre to implement powerloom scheme

GUWAHATI, April 7 ? The North Eastern Small Scale Industries Association (NESSIA) has called upon the Centre to come forward with a special package scheme for Assam and other north eastern States to help revive the powerloom sector of the region. Out of the total 3,000 powerlooms in Assam hardly 500 units are in operation. In a memorandum to the Union Textile Minister, Sri Kashiram Rana, the NESSIA said the powerloom sector in the region was turning sick after 1992 for lack of yarn with the sudden closure of most of the spinning mills and process houses. The memorandum urged the Minister to announce a well-defined textile policy for the powerloom industry. Stating that the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme launched by the Union Textile Ministry in 1990 to modernise the powerloom, jute and textile sector failed to make any impact in Assam, the NESSIA appealed to the Ministry to initiate action with the State Government, state-owned financial institutions, nationalised banks, SIDBI, etc to implement the scheme. It also demanded setting up of a yarn bank exclusively for powerlooms as has been done for the handloom sector. As of now, no yarn is locally available for powerlooms due to closure of all State-owned spinning mills in Assam, it said. Lamenting that the powerloom sector in Assam has been neglected by both the Centre and the State Governments, the NESSIA called for special Central assistance to revive the sector. If revived, the powerlooms can offer maximum employment opportunities in rural areas, it said. The NESSIA also cited poor marketing facilities as another hurdle in the development of the powerloom sector and demanded that the responsibility of marketing powerloom products should be entrusted with Central assistance to the only State-level powerloom body, Assam State Powerloom Cooperative Federation as most of the powerloom units of the State are registered members of the federation.