Srinagar, Jan 31, Feb. 1 -- The Handicrafts and Handloom Department, Kashmir, has strongly refuted claims made in a recent news report titled "The Art Will Die with Us": Srinagar's papier mache craftsmen battle extinction. In a press release, a department spokesman clarified that the department runs 19 training centres across Kashmir Division, providing hands-on papier mache training to around 400 artisans annually. "So far, 8,102 new artisans have been trained, carrying forward this unique craft," he said, adding that unorganised artisans are being registered to avail government schemes.To encourage artisans, 25 master craftsmen have received UT Awards over the past decade. Prominent figures like Fayaz Ahmad Jan and Iqbal Hussain Khan ha...