A visitor at the Crafts Bazaar on Monday. Picture by S.H. Patgiri

Feb. 9: Organisers of the National Crafts Bazaar have accused the government of taking little interest in giving a push to the handicraft industry of the region.

The organisers said the lack of participation of artisans from outside the state in the fair might be attributed to the fact that they were not provided travelling allowances and other benefits by the government.

The 10-day crafts bazaar, under way at the Assam Engineering Institute playground in the city, has been sponsored by the office of development commissioner of handicrafts, ministry of textiles. The Artfed is organising the fair.

Initially 150 stalls were planned to set up in the bazaar. However, later the number came down to 119 as many participants backed out at the last moment.

“We had apprised the development commissioner of the non-participation by artisans in the bazaar,” Artfed officials said. “Many of the artisans had said it would be very difficult for them to participate in the fair if they did not get the travelling and other allowances. It is really too much for the small artisans for bear the costs which also include hotel bills,” the officials said.

The exhibition aims at promoting the handicrafts of northeastern India and provides a platform to the artisans to interact with the buyers. Arunachal Pradesh had also not participated in the fair.

The stalls exhibit cane craft, bamboo craft, sital pati, brass and bell metal utensils, jute chappals, jute bags, skilfully- carved wooden decorations and the like. There are around 30,360 handicraft units in Assam, which give employment to 1,00,482 craftsmen. Assam is annually producing handicraft items worth Rs 7,820.94 crore.

This is the fifth national-level handicraft expo organised by Artfed. The gum kharu, jon-biri and dhol-biri are the main attraction for the visitors. Some traditional designs of jewellery are also being showcased.

The expo comprises stalls of artisans working under the Baba Shaheb Ambedkar scheme, started by the Artfed at Nalbari covering 10 villages. The scheme provides financial help to the artisans besides giving training on tools and kits.

In January, the Artfed signed a contract with the US administration for exporting pillow cover and muga quilt worth Rs 1.43 crore. It also received an order to export silk curtains and clothes to Malaysia. Handicraft products are also being exported to Japan, US, Poland and Cyprus.