Shimla, Sep 19 (IANS): Only those handloom products that have a state-approved Geographic Indicator (GI) mark will be allowed to be sold during the week-long Dussehra festivities in Kullu town beginning on October 22, authorities said on Saturday.

A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, of the state-level Kullu Dussehra Committee here.

This decision will help promoting sale of handmade Kullu shawls and will benefit the local weavers, a government statement said.

It is said many businessmen who arrive during the Dussehra festival bring shawls from Ludhiana and elsewhere and cheat people by labeling them as Kullu shawls.

In order to stop this practice, the decision was taken that only those local handloom products that have a GI mark will be allowed to be sold during the festival, it added.

Last year during the Kullu Dussehra festivities, a total of 8,760 dancers, comprising girls and women, performed a folk dance to save the girl child.

The chief minister later administered the pledge of saving the girl child to thousands of women present on the occasion. He said discrimination against the girl child would not be tolerated.

Kullu Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kanwar, the brain behind the folk dance, told IANS that over 12,000 women and girls have voluntarily agreed to participate in the performance this time.

"We are going to register make Guinness World Records," he added.

Kullu Dussehra is a centuries-old festival and celebrations begin on "Vijaya Dashami", the day when the festivities end in rest of the country.