As part of the Himachal Pradesh Government’s move to promote Chamba’s traditional products in the indigenous and international market, the State Council of Science, Technology and Environment has drawn up a plan for getting these products registered under the Geographical Indications (GI) Act, 1999.

A workshop on the registration of traditional products of Chamba was organised by the council in collaboration with Sewa Himalayas, an NGO, at the Bhuri Singh Museum in the town recently.

Pushpendra Rajput, Deputy Commissioner of Chamba, appreciated the initiative, taken at a time when the town is going to celebrate 1000 years of its existence from April 13 to 19. “Chamba has a rich cultural heritage and the government is committed to its conservation and preservation”, he said.

Dr S.S. Chandel, Principal Scientific Officer of the council, informed that the Himachal Pradesh Patent Information Centre (HPPIC) had already identified the products to be registered — the Chamba rumaal, chappal, zareesh, chukh, metal crafts, etc.

Based upon the inputs put up by the participants in the workshop, a strategy for getting the products registered was finalised.

The Director of Sewa Himalayas, Manuj Sharma, has been authorised to coordinate with the local groups for documentation of the Chamba products.

The workshop was attended by about 50 persons, including experts in the traditional crafts of Chamba.