Chandigarh, July 21 (Inditop.com) The Punjab government is all set to establish “artisan haat (marketplace) centres” to showcase the state’s cultural heritage as well as to benefit the Scheduled Castes (SC) artisans and entrepreneurs by providing them direct marketing facilities without middlemen.
“Handicrafts of Punjab exhibit the rich cultural heritage of the state. To give a boost to it, Punjab government would spend Rs.2 crore (Rs.20 million) on this new scheme, to establish artisan haat centres, during this financial year,” state’s Industry and Commerce Minister Manoranjan Kalia told reporters here Tuesday.
“About 20 percent of SC population in the state is engaged in the traditional occupations like Punjabi jutti (shoe) making, cloth weaving, phulkari and in the manufacturing herbal products. These centres would be of great help for these backward trades,” he added.
Kalia said that artisan centres would be set up at Amritsar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ferozepur and Patiala and a state level artisan centre will come up at Mohali.
Under this scheme, the district administration would provide minimum three acres of land, located in the urban area, for the establishment of district artisan haat centre (marketplace), where 25 permanent haats would be set up.
“Small-scale Industry Export Corporation would also organise exhibitions-cum-fairs at these centres. We would provide free space (shops) to artisans to exhibit and sale their products directly to customers and abolish the role of middlemen,” stated Kalia.
