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After Darjeeling tea, 11 more items from West Bengal are in line to get Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
According to Mahuya Hom Choudhury, Patent and Trademark Attorney, Patent Information Centre of West Bengal State Council of Science & Technology, documentations for the new items have been completed.
An application seeking GI for ‘Joynagar moa’ – a sweetmeat delicacy made of puffed rice and date palm jaggery at Jaynagar-Majilpur municipality near Kolkata – was submitted a year ago and is expected to be awarded the patent soon, Choudhury said.
She was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on value generation of Indian GIs organised jointly by CII and Intellectual Property (IP) Office, India.
Other items Apart from Joynagar moa, registrations have been done for Baluchari, Dhanekhali and Shantipur’s handloom sarees.
The patent official, however, is worried about lack of support from the State government in filing applications for the rest of items that have been documented. “The only concern now is who will file for the documented and registered products,” she added.
Tangail saree, Tangail Jamdani saree, Koral, Garad, Dhakai Maslin, Tulai Panji rice and Kanakchur rice are the other items on the list.
Chinnaraja G. Naidu, Assistant Registrar, Trade Marks & GI Registry, IP Office, India, said 189 items from across the country have been awarded GI tag so far.
Protection mechanism Various organisations representing traditional products from Bengal have sought the State Government’s help to create a protection mechanism for the original products.
An association on behalf of the handloom saree weavers of Shantipur (Nadia) expressed concerns over faking of the original product. Emergence of powerloom as a faster substitute might also impact the social life of handloom weavers and ruin the art, a member of the association pointed out.
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