ZT News Network
JAMMU: Lt Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on Saturday inaugurated Government Silk Weaving Factory and Government Silk Filatures at Bari Brahmana Jammu, which have been established at a cost of Rs. 16.80 crores and Rs 6.64 crores respectively in a record time of about 2 years.
Both the units have been equipped with modern machinery and equipments under the expert guidance of Central Silk Board, Government of India. The Silk Filatures will provide stable market to about 10,000 farmers in the Jammu region whereas, the Silk Weaving Factory will have the capacity of producing 4,60,000 Meters of Silk fabric creating direct and indirect employment opportunities for the people.
With the coming of Silk Factory at Jammu, in addition to the one at Srinagar, which is under reconstruction, silk farmers of J&K are expected to find a ready market, fetching good returns. Despite the passage of several years, the planned Srinagar Silk Factory is far from being completed. Once a centre of silk production in the region, Kashmir’s silk industry has undergone a big decline.
The LG also inaugurated the Administrative cum Faculty Block of the Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI).
Addressing a gathering at Bari Brahamana, the Lt Governor emphasized the importance of entrepreneurship and exhorted the youth to learn from the success stories to make a difference.
‘You are the job creators and wealth creators. Government alone cannot sustain the economy; it is the entrepreneurs like you who drive the economic engine of a country’, he added.
Advisor to the Lt Governor, KK Sharma, while briefing the gathering, said that 900 MT silk cocoons produced in Jammu and Kashmir couldn’t find sufficient processing facilities resulting in loss to the silk producers.