Guwahati, Oct. 21: Assam minister Pramila Rani Brahma urged stakeholders in the construction industry to come up with affordable building materials for consumers in rural areas.
"Stakeholders in the construction sector need to come up with affordable building material, including sanitary fittings, particularly for toilets under public health and engineering schemes in the rural areas," Brahma said after inaugurating Pradarshini, an exhibition of building materials, here today.
The Guwahati Sanitary and Hardware Merchants Association, a premier business organisation of the city, is organising the three-day exhibition for the first time.
The minister urged the organisers to invite more companies from outside the Northeast to participate in the exhibition in the coming years, and more importantly, to showcase the resources of the Northeast to the outside world. "The environment in the region has improved now and we need to create this impression among investors from outside the region when they come here and participate," Brahma said.
All Assam Students' Union president Dipanka Nath and actor Nishita Goswami were also present as the guests of honour.
"I also request organisations such as the AASU to help take the trader community into confidence and made to feel safe," the minister said.
As many as 53 companies from across the country and Northeast are taking part in the exhibition.
The association, formed in 1993, aims to hold the exhibition every year.
"The objective of Pradarshini is to make people of the Northeast, particularly those from rural areas near the city, aware of the innovations and developments that have taken place in regard to construction materials," the association's secretary, Aditya Agarwal, told The Telegraph .
Besides individual house builders, the stakeholders taking part in the exhibition include among others realtors, architects and interior decorators.
"Apart from multinational companies, national and local companies, primarily dealing in sanitary fittings, TMT bars and pumps, are taking part in the exhibition. Next year, we plan to invite more participants," Agarwal said.
