SHILLONG: There is a proposal to set up a wool bank in Meghalaya for the benefit of the weavers in the State who are dependent on other states for the raw materials that is required in the making of wool.
Speaking to The Shillong Times on Tuesday, Ishantor Sobhapandit, Regional Manager, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), said that the Chamber along with the Central Wool Development Board had proposed to set up wool banks in three states of the North East including Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh last year.
He said that the State Government had taken up the initiative and certain steps were also taken in this regard by the Meghalaya Government last year, but a gap has emerged in discussions on the proposal after the assembly elections in the State in February.
Reacting to a query, he said that the State can venture into sheep rearing for wool that would allow the people to procure quality wool at the right price.
“With a wool bank, people in the State can have stocks of their products,” he told The Shillong Times, while adding that the feasibility of a wool bank is higher in Meghalaya due to its cold climatic condition.
Sobhapandit pointed out that the Central Government has been providing various schemes and programmes in the woollen sector and Meghalaya must take benefit out of it.
Earlier while inaugurating the ten-day 3rd Shillong Woolen Expo, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, PW Ingty, said that the Expo would encourage the people of Meghalaya to start venturing in the woollen sector and start production of woollen products.
He, however, expressed dismay that Meghalaya has not been actively participating in the Expo, where as many as fifty stalls have been put up by participants from Kashmir, Nagaland, Manipur and Assam, besides Meghalaya.
The ten-day Expo aims to promote the growth and development of wool and woollen products in Meghalaya, besides evolving an integrated approach to wool production and its utilization in the matter of formulation of schemes, extension work etc. aimed at augmenting wool production and upgrading its quality thereof in Meghalaya.
