Professor of the IIT Guwahati mechanical engineering department, S.K. Kakoti, speaks at a news conference on the pilot project on Thursday. Picture by UB Photos

March 22: Weavers of the state can now produce nearly five times of what they used to churn out in a day using handlooms, thanks to a new indigenously developed power loom.

The loom, invented by engineer Dulal Choudhury, will definitely change silk weaving for the better. Powers looms will be available to weavers and entrepreneurs through a pilot project on Mechanized Weaving of Muga Silk Fabric, being implemented by the Rural Technology Action Group (Rutag) Centre of IIT Guwahati.

The North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) has funded the project, which came into being under the patronage of former Assam governor Ajay Singh.

After Dulal Choudhury had dedicated the patent of his invention to indigenous weavers of the state in 2006, Singh had appreciated it, saying the technology of the new power loom should be made available to people in the form of a pilot project.

Assam governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik will inaugurate the project at the Amingaon industrial estate in North Guwahati tomorrow.

Under the pilot project, four power looms have been installed at the industrial estate to put into use advanced technology to produce textiles made from the indigenous muga yarn. Not only will the power looms enhance productivity of weavers, even the texture of its finished product will undergo marked improvement in comparison to muga cloth woven in a handloom.

Speaking about his invention, Dulal Choudhury said, “I invented the power loom to enhance the productivity of indigenous weavers of the state. Weaving through a handloom is time consuming, and on an average, our weavers very painstakingly manage to weave about a metre or more of cloth during a day. But the technology of the power loom makes the process of weaving very fast. Half a metre of cloth can be woven in half an hour, which means that the loom can produce five metres of cloth in 10 hours. Besides, it also greatly cuts down the weavers’ work, enhancing productivity.”

“The muga cloth produced through the power loom will obviously be of fine quality as the loom minimises the chances of human error while weaving. When weavers continuously weave throughout the day, there is always the possibility of their making an error or two that may make the texture of a cloth coarse. Since no starch is used while weaving through the power loom, the texture of the cloth is soft and shiny. But while weaving through the indigenous loom, weavers use starch to make the final cloth stiff, affecting its quality,” Choudhury said.

NEDFi business development assistant general manager Ashim Kumar Das said, “The process of implementing the project has begun and will be carried out on a trial basis to see how the technology enhances productivity. Rutag will then submit a feasibility report depending on which various stake holders of the pilot project will decide on ways to make the technology available to weavers.”