Handicraft was a part of Kashmir’s culture & heritage which needed to be kept: Begum Samina Alvi

MUZAFFARABAD, August 17 (SABAH): First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi has said that handicraft was a part of Kashmir’s culture and heritage which needed to be kept alive and should be marketed on modern lines so that women associated with this skill can earn as much as they work hard to prepare.

Begum Samina Alvi made these remarks during a visit to small industries display center on Thursday. Mrs. Alvi visited Meena Baazar in the center organized by the small industries corporations and appreciated the different handicraft prepared by local women including embroidery, wooden carving displayed in the Bazzar.

Managing Director Small Industries Corporation Wajhat Rasheed Baig told the first lady that their organization was supporting the women associated with this trade by displaying their items on different occasions.

The first lady on the occasion took a keen interest in different handmade things and appreciated the skill of women. Before leaving for another visit, she planted a tree at the center.

Later, she also visited a training institute established by technical education and vocational training education Authority (TEVTA) where she was told about the skill development training of the women by chairman TEVTA Raja Razaq Nadeem.

She visited the different departments of the institute and encouraged the women to take training in different skills like handicrafts, embroidery, wood carving and beautician.

The first lady also visited a rehabilitation center for physically challenged person before leaving for Islamabad and visited different departments where she was told by the Director of the Center Dr. Ahmad Junaid that people from across the country had been benefiting from the center.

Dr. Junaid told the first lady that this center was established by an international committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in 2007 after deadly earthquake of October 2005 in the region to rehabilitate the physically challenged person due to quake and now was providing services free of cost to the people coming from different parts of the country.

Mrs. Alvi appreciated the services being provided by the institute and visited different sections including the workshop where artificial limbs are prepared. She also talked to different people including the patients in the center.