Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said it was the responsibility of every individual to promote handicrafts as it would provide livelihood to our artisans. He inaugurated handicrafts expo ‘Aakruti 2017’ organised by Crafts Council of Andhra Pradesh at Sesha Sai Kalyana mandapam here on Monday and visited various stalls. He was accompanied by his wife Nara Bhuvaneshwari.
Mr Naidu lauded the efforts of the crafts council for arranging the expo displaying the handicrafts of Andhra Pradesh in Vijayawada for the first time. He said his government is committed to the upliftment of handicrafts. The CM assured the artisans that the government will support Kondapalli and Etikoppaka toys and other signature crafts of Andhra Pradesh. “Kalamkari fabric used to have a huge demand across the country earlier. Now, it has lost demand due to negligence. The TD government will promote it in a big way,” Mr Naidu said.
Handicrafts of our state are in great demand across the world for their quality at reasonable price, he pointed out. He congratulated Mr Ranjan for being appointed as chairman for AP Chapter of Crafts Council. Usha Sarvarayulu, chairperson of Crafts Council of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, said about 50 stalls were put up in the expo and that artists and artisans were selling their produce directly to the customers at lowest prices. Stalls of Mangalagiri cotton sarees with Nizam border, Kalamkari bed sheets, Machilipatnam mehrab, toys and gift articles were the major attraction at the exhibition.
