A woman checks out melamine products at a fair. File picture

Dhubri, April 15: Melamine products from Bangladesh and various other items from all over the country are on display at a 15-day national-level trade fair that began at Bilasipara in Dhubri district today.

The other products include handlooms of Rajasthan, wooden crafts of Saharanpur, and handicrafts of Assam and other northeastern states.

The trade fair has been organised under the auspices of Akangsha, a Barpeta-based NGO, which had been organising fairs for several years. However, this is the first national-level fair.

The melamine products from Bangladesh are a major attraction. They are expected to draw the highest number of buyers in the fair, along with the traditional products of Northeast.

Mridul Medhi, trader and exporter of melamine products from Bangladesh, said, “Melamine is a popular trading item in India and has carved out a niche in the international market, too, within a short span of time.”

He added, “Tableware products from Bangladesh are very popular in India, especially in the eastern states. We are expecting good sales here, as this is the first time the products will be available in this extreme corner of the state.”

Another attraction will be wooden products, especially a wide range of furniture crafted traditionally, from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Amin Ahmed who deals in these wooden items said they had received a very good response across the country. “These products (similar to the Kashmiri wooden items), with art crafted on it, is a distinctive feature of Saharanpur art on wood and has the traditional values which represents its culture,” he said.

Ahmed is also expecting a good response in this trade fair, as he has been told about the trading potential of Bilasipara.

The secretary of Akangsha, Mukut Das, told this correspondent that they have organised several trade fairs across the state over the years, but this was the biggest and the first national-level trade fair.

“Altogether 40 stalls of different items across the country, including Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Mumbai, Meerat, Calcutta, and Saharanpur, have been put up. All the items available in the trade fair are unique in their cultural values,” he added.

“Apart from economic benefits, Akangsha’s objective is to build cultural bridges among the diverse sections of people living in the country,” Das said.