VIJAYAWADA: A fortnight-long all-India craft bazaar, organised by office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, along with Indian Tourism Development Corporation, will commence from Friday at Swaraj Maidan, according to I.H.P. Rao, assistant director, Handicrafts Marketing and Services Extension Centre.

Speaking to mediapersons, Mr. Rao said the main objective of conducting craft bazaar was to invite artisans from all over the country to arrange a direct linkage between them and customers. "Artisans can get the firsthand information about the tastes and needs of consumers and they can orient themselves as per the market demands," he added.

The dazzling and colourful craft varieties of Dhokra castings, stone carvings, palm leaf engraving and appliqué works of Orissa, carpets, durries, mithila paintings, tribal jewellery, lac craft of Bihar, woollen carpets, conch shells, Kantha stitches, jute crafts of West Bengal, cane and bamboo and terracotta crafts of North Eastern State, miniature paintings, papier machie from Rajasthan, embroidered shawls of Jammu & Kashmir, Kalamkari printings and crochet lace of Andhra Pradesh, sandalwood carvings, Kora grass mats of Tamil Nadu, rosewood carvings and fibre-based crafts from Kerala are some of the varieties, which would be on display in the exhibition.

Mr. Rao said that the Development Commission (Handicrafts) was implementing a larger number of developmental, promotion and training and marketing schemes for the growth of the handicrafts sector.

Welfare schemes

"Welfare schemes such as Bima Yojana Insurance scheme, national awards to eminent craftsmen and Baba Saheb Ambedkar Harthshilpa Vikas Yogana are introduced through out the country for the benefit of the artisans. Self-help groups were formed in the village level for the overall development of craft clusters," he added.

As many as 150 artisans from across the country are participating in the fair.

Krishna district collector Naveen Mittal will inaugurate the craft bazaar on Friday and the fair would conclude on September 14.

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