Various novel initiatives will have to be taken to make women self reliant in order to mitigate migration. The Almora district magistrate Nitin Singh Bhadauriya said this while speaking at a function organised to mark the occasion of national handloom day here on Thursday.

The district magistrate said that a factory used to operate here in the past which later closed down. In order to boost income generation scope for the youth and women a programme is being held in this site.  As part of the programme, women are being provided training in groups of 20 each. In the training programme, the women are being taught to make Pashmina items, shawls, sweaters and other items. They can later provide this training to their acquaintances in order to make the capable of self employment.

Bhadauriya further said that the ministry of textiles and Almora district industry centre are jointly undertaking various initiatives to enable the people to become self reliant. The training programme has been organised here to boost income generation potential of people earlier employed in the factory who were rendered unemployed with the factory closing down.

 After a six-month training period, the Hans Himadri Handloom will provide employment to those who have undergone the said training, he added. The items that will be prepared here after the training will be displayed at various locations and arrangements will also be made for maketing the same.  The DM informed that the textile ministry has also decided to open an institution in the Almora district. It is hoped that the opening of this institution will prove to be considerably helpful to weavers and other people in the district.

He further said that care should be taken to ensure that all the items made here should carry aspects identifying it with this region so that the products can have a distinct identity. After addressing the gathering, the district magistrate also presented certificates to the women and men who had completed their training from here. The Bunkar Seva Samiti, Chamoli assistant director Vinay Kumar informed that 40 weavers in Matena, Dinapani are being trained in dyeing.