TAXILA, Feb 16: Keeping in view unique expertise of the craftsmen in carving the black stone, Punjab government would soon declare Taxila as a craftsmen city.  

Secretary Industries Punjab Dr Shujaat Ali said this on Thursday while speaking as a chief guest at a ceremony in which ten master artisans were given certificates of excellence to mark the launching of ‘design development and value addition in stone crafts at Taxila’ by Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC).

He said the unique art of black stone carving would be documented and its masterpieces would be showcased in exhibitions at domestic as well as international level. He said in this regard, this three-year project had been launched by Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) with the estimated cost of Rs43m to revive the dying crafts industry. He said latest techniques and modern designs would be introduced in the industry to capture international markets for the artifacts.

Speaking on the occasion, Managing Director PSIC Farhan Aziz Khawaja said, modern scientific lines would be adopted for the revival of dying crafts including design, value addition and product development of stone crafts.— Correspondent