Minister inaugurates Metal Craft Artisans Village

Our correspondent

LAHORE :Punjab Minister for Industries, Commerce and Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal on Thursday inaugurated a state-of-the-art Metal Craft Artisans Village near Kot Abdul Malik on Sheikhupura Road.

The village has been built on 4 acre land at a cost of Rs 180 million. The 34 workshops established in the village were allotted to artisans through transparent balloting in the presence of the minister.

A vast area, including a big hall, has also been built for exhibition of products prepared by artisans. Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Aslam Iqbal said that Punjab Small Industries Corporation had taken a great initiative by constructing Metal Craft Artisans Village which would help boost cottage industry. This project will also help promote regional culture of metal art and handicrafts. With the establishment of the village, excellent opportunities for employment have been provided to those who work hard to earn the bread and butter for their children. Government has provided the facility to promote the art of the artisans, the minister said.

Aslam Iqbal said that the purpose of establishing the village was not to collect revenue for the government but to keep the dying art alive. Now it is upon the artisans how they get benefit from the project, he added.

He said the Punjab government had evolved an action plan for the revival of cottage industry.Every district of Punjab is famous for some kind of art and government has decided to revive the cottage industry in all the districts of Punjab in the next three years, he said.

The minister said that loan scheme for the promotion of SMEs had been approved and it would be launched soon. He said the metal industry would be promoted and improved. He said he would pay surprise visits to the village, and if any workshop was found not functioning, allotment of that workshop would be cancelled. He also visited the workshops.

The PSIC managing director briefed the minister about the projects. The industries secretary, PSIC officers and artisans also attended the ceremony.

scholarship: Punjab University (PU) Centre for Undergraduate Studies arranged a talk by Dr Thomas Hesse, Deputy Secretary General, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany, on scholarship opportunities.

In his address, Dr Hesse talked about fellowships and research awards that Humboldt Foundation offers. The audience took great interest in his talk that was followed by question & answer session.