Indian assistance for handloom industry

Manjula Fernando

COLOMBO: Outgoing Indian High Commissioner Nirupama Rao attending her final official social function yesterday said she would take with her very happy memories and friends she acquired during her two year tenure in Sri Lanka.

A very emotional Rao in an end note to her speech said: "Tonight I leave Sri Lanka. I feel so specially tied to the people here. It's an emotional attachment, not just an official attachment."

She said she strove to move the close relations the two countries share a little further and hope her successor will take on from where she had stopped.

The simple ceremony at the Indian High Commission, also attended by Textile Industry Development Minister Jayatissa Ranaweera, marked gifting of eight handloom machines to tsunami affected weavers in Ampara and Batticaloa to help them in their traditional living.

Soon after the tsunami she extensively visited the East, one of the areas worst affected by the natural calamity.

"We tried to reach out to the people in the areas, our friends, our brethren of Sri Lanka. My heart went out to them. We thought how better we could help these friends."

She said the southern coast of Tamil Nadu was also severely affected by the giant waves and she was hoping to replicate some of the projects initiated by India in Tamil Nadu.

Talking of the two places she said "the similarities are immense. The harmony, similarity, concord are so great, we must make use of it in the developing process".

She said her visits to the museum built by late Minister A.H.M. Ashraff in Batticaloa revealed how closely knit the people of the East were with weaving. "The specimen of weaving in display was absolutely world class," she remarked saying the idea of donating handlooms machinery to the people originated from this visit.

The High Commissioner said it was an immense personal satisfaction for her to see it being implemented as a pilot project which in the future may involve sending Eastern weavers to Tamil Nadu to get first hand experience in the industry there.

it is expected this handloom project will provide critical support in livelihood and capacity building to the beneficiaries, who would mostly be women from all communities.

The donated machines, TARA (Technology and Action for Rural Advancement) loom is an ingenious machine that incorporates advanced features to improve the efficiency and productivity and the quality of the woven fabric.

The project is part of India's assistance in Tsunami rehabilitation to Sri Lanka. Apart from the immediate tsunami relief assistance, India has provided over US $ 24 million for tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction, Indian High Commission media spokeswoman Nagma Mallik said.

Deputy Indian High Commissioner and the Textile Industry Development Ministry Secretary were also present.