A play staged on the concluding day of the Vikas Mela in Ranchi. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Jan. 19: Political equation seems to have found a strange way of expressing its state of flux — through melas.

The past few weeks have seen a spurt in fairs and carnivals of all hues and if the winter bonhomie is anything to go by, melas have become the latest political fad. Babus, however, disagree and strive to clear the mist surrounding the elaborate shows of fun and colour.

The three-day Vikas Mela, organised by the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA), Ranchi, concluded today. It was inaugurated by chief minister Arjun Munda and formally declared close by Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari and MP Ram Tahal Choudhary. In between, assets worth Rs 448 crore was distributed among 39,170 beneficiaries.

For a change, the chief minister was in Medininagar, Palamau, for yet another “Vikas Mela”, organised by the local district administration.

The department of tourism has lined up a five-day Jharkhand Trade and Tourism Fair on February 27. If the model code of conduct does not come in the way, then even that “mela” would be inaugurated by the chief minister.

The fair, which will be held in the capital, would distribute kisan credit cards to 1 lakh farmers in the second week of September.

But the bureaucrat concerned contests the claim. Director, tourism, S.K. Jha said, “We have been working on this project for the past nine months. The basic idea is to give the message that something is happening on the tourism front.”

“The state government or the tourism corporation does not have to invest a single penny, instead the corporation will get something in return, the amount depending on the success of the fair, being organised by the events manager,” Jha said.

“Out of the 10 contenders, the department shortlisted four and finally one was chosen to organise the five-day fair. The events manager says the fair is expected to have more than 350 stalls, but we will be happy even if 250 to 300 stalls are put up,” Jha said.

While asserting that there was no political motive behind the “Vikas Mela”, Ranchi deputy commissioner Pradeep Kumar, said, “It is a good concept because, middlemen are eliminated in the process. These middlemen interfere in the selection of beneficiaries at the block or the circle level.”

“The mela has also given exposure to artisans from remote places like Torpa, which no one from the city would visit. While government schemes get a momentum because a deadline is fixed, it also helps speed up different processes, like banks speed up processing the list of beneficiaries,” he said.

Pradeep Kumar further said, “This is an annual affair, and it was planned a long time ago. Like we have scheduled distribution of kisan credit cards in the second week of September. This mela serves to spread awareness about government schemes, health and other products through 150 stalls.”

Beneficiaries from the rural areas were also entertained by the cultural programmes.