Dilli Haat

Imphal, June 23: The Okram Ibobi Singh government is planning to construct a permanent craft bazaar where Manipur’s handloom and handicraft products would be available round the year.

“The market will be constructed on the lines of Dilli Haat, which is considered a shopper’s paradise,” state industry minister Yumkham Erabot Singh told The Telegraph.

The industry department has identified a 9.8-acre plot of land for the craft bazaar near Central Agriculture University at Eroisemba in Imphal West district, 5km from here.

Manipur has a forest cover of 3,000 square km and 15 species of bamboo and five varieties of cane. The state’ annual bamboo product is estimated to be 2 lakh tonnes. Naturally, the state’s handicraft sector has a good potential. According to official sources, 1.5 lakh artisans are engaged in cane and bamboo work.

However, despite the abundant raw materials and skilled hands the product cannot find buyers because of lack of organisation and market facilities.

Manipur also has 3.39 lakh weavers, producing 86.40 lakh linear metre of handloom cloth per month. The state’s colourful ethnic wears, shawls and wide range of saris are a rage among visitors.

“If a permanent craft market is set up here, tourists will definitely go there like foreign tourists make a beeline for Dilli Haat,” Erabot said.

The state’s artisans have little opportunity to sell their products to outsiders, as their shops are mostly located in the rural areas, which are rarely visited by tourists.

“If we have a crafts market similar to Dilli Haat in Imphal, Manipur’s handloom and handicraft could witness a boom. It is because of lack of market facilities that we cannot grow,” Radhesana Devi, an artisan, said.

Official sources said the permanent crafts market would also attract foreign buyers and traders whom the state’s artisans cannot contact on their own.

The annual turnout of the state’s handloom and handicrafts sector is estimated to be nearly Rs 100 crore. Once the trade hub is set up, the turnover could be double, officials in the industry department said.

Erabot said the state government would take loans from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) for the construction of the trade hub. The state government is also looking for financial assistance from the Centre.

“We are finalising a detailed project report. Once it is completed, we will submit it to Nabard, which is willing to finance the project,” the minister said.