Vijayawada: A sizeable crowd thronged the Akila Bharatha DWCRA Bazar-2018 presently underway at the PWD Grounds in Vijayawada on Monday. The expo is being organised by the Minister for Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) and Women’s Empowerment. It has become a huge draw in the Dasara festive season.
Women entrepreneurs and rural artisans from over 20 states in the country are showcasing their products at the expo. As many as 320 stalls under one roof, right from food courts to apparel, handicrafts and jewellery have been set up.
As many as 738 self-help group members are participating in the event. Women were seen thronging the stalls displaying Pochampalli, Uppada, Mangalagiri, Gadwal, Venkatagiri, Narayanpur and Bengal cotton saris and Chirala dresses. Shops selling cotton and khadi clothes also proved to be a big draw.
The expo is showcasing food products, Rayalaseema special home foods, arts and handicrafts and handlooms from various places. Dry flowers from Arunachal Pradesh, bamboo and Kondapalli toys from AP, saris form Bihar and Chhattisgarh, jewellery from Goa, home decor pieces from Gujarat and other famous products from different states are being showcased to protect Indian culture and craft. The expo is conducted in Vijayawada and Vishakhapatnam every year and this is its 19the year.
The expo will remain open till October 22. SERP junior project executive N.S.R. Murthy said that all SHG members can sell products worth Rs 6 crore in the Akila Bharatha DWCRA Bazaar as it is the perfect platform for SHG women to showcase their talent and also make money.”
Mr Murthy said that the state government was spending Rs 1.35 crore to conduct each National DWCRA Bazaar expo for providing livelihood to SHGs.
Kalgudi, one of the NGOs that selects the best products from all stalls in the expo and makes a logo and write description to put it online for sale.
A visitor, Kusuma Sirisha from Brundavan Colony said, “The products showcased are good and the handloom saris are attractive.”
These types of expos enable us to buy many varieties and productions from across the country.”
Konadapalli artisan P. Lalitha Kumari said that she was doing business of about Rs 6,000 per day. Cymon SHG member Ramanjaneyulu of Palakollu village in West Godavari district said that he was selling food items indigenous to the district including sweets like Putharekulu, Thati Tandra and Soan Papdi and was earning Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 per day.
