North East’s first handicrafts museum inaugurated

GANGTOK, 04 July: “While preserving traditional motifs on handicrafts, we should modernise the designs to appeal to the urban consumers across the country by proper finishing and branding. We should also involve National Institute of Design (NID) on a more long term and sustainable basis for increasing the income of artisans”, said Minister of DoNER, Bijoy Krishna Handique, while inaugurating the North East Craft Museum at Guwahati today, informs a DoNER release.

This is the only Handicrafts Museum in the North East which has artifacts from all the North Eastern States including Sikkim.
Under the initiative of North East Handloom & Handicrafts Development Corporation (NEHHDC), the Museum has been financed by the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) and set up in a 10000 Sq.ft. shed.
Work on the Museum started in 2009 with the disposal of the old and heavy machinery and major repair works took up almost the entire year. Thereafter the works on the interiors were taken up and it took final shape in 2011, the release informs. The Museum has a unique collection of basketries, some of which are decades old.
Joint Secretary, Ministry of DoNER, JP Sharma, Private Secretary to Minister, Dr.Ravi Kota and MD, NEHHDC, Jagadish Borah, was among the dignitaries present in the inaugural function.