Kathmandu: Three ministers in Bagmati Province government expressed their solidarity for the promotion of handicrafts. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Cooperatives Shailendra Man Bajracharya, Minister for Forest and Environment Keshav Prasad Pokharel and Minister for Industry, Commerce, Land and Administration Prakash Shrestha reaffirmed their commitment for the same at a programme organized by the Federation of Handicrafts Associations of Nepal (FHAN) here Sunday. Among the pledges they made were increasing use of handicrafts in the provincial ministry's offices and their subordinate agencies, endorsing bill pertaining to establishment of Handicraft Village and Operation in parliament, allocating adequate budget for handicraft sector in the upcoming fiscal year, approving and implementing handicraft policy and providing forest-based raw materials to manufacture handicrafts among others, it was shared. On the occasion, President of FHAN, Prachanda Shakya, urged the ministers for earliest endorsement of t he bills related to establishment of handicrafts villages and operation which is currently under deliberation in the Bagmati Province Assembly. The Federation also drew the attention of the provincial government for operating SAARC Handicraft Development Centre, conducting handicrafts trade fairs and establishing the Handicraft University among others. Similarly, Founding President of the FHAN, Sagar Shumsher Rana, opined that the provincial government could support the cause of promotion of handicrafts in the Bagmati region that, according to him, had tremendous potential for handmade crafts. Source: National News Agency Nepal