Though the flagship events like Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit and International Kite Festivals are growing faster with every new edition,the state governments budget and number of handloom and handicraft fairs highlighting the local artisans are going down every day. From 71 fairs at various places in the state throughout the year displaying various handicraft and handloom products in 2010-2011,the number of such fairs organised by the Industrial Extension Bureau-Craft(iNDEXT-C) had gone down to 49 in 2011-12. It improved a bit to 58 in 2012-2013. With a target of at least two such fairs per month,this financial year is yet to see a single event in this category,according to data from iNDEXT-C office. The grant allotted to iNDEXT-C by the cottage and small scale industries department to organise such fairs was cut down to Rs 5.5 crore in the current financial year from Rs 7 crore in 2012-2013. Also,the state government doesnt have a policy to take the artisans outside Gujarat and provide a bigger platform for them. The number of events are going down. The artisans are in need of promotion and platform, said Ashwingiri Goswami,an artisan from Amreli. This comes at times when competition from other states at home ground is increasing with the rising number of fairs by them, he said. Unlike other states including Jharkhand and Chhatisgrah,Gujarat doesnt have a policy to take artisans to other states for exhibitions, said C J Patel,director of iNDEXT-C. Number of similar events in Gujarat by other states and private players has been increasing, he added. According to iNDEXT-C data,though 50,000-odd artisans are registered with District Industry Department,there are only 200 members who are actively participating in the fairs and this number is also going down with time. There is no point in organising more fairs,when we have same set of participants, said an official. The department bears the exhibition expense,but doesnt provide lodging and boarding facilities for members participate in the events. This is one of the reasons that many artisans tend to avoid participation, the official said. No fairs without CCTV cameras,artisans cry foul Till recently,the Industrial Extension Bureau (Craft) of the state government used to hold two to three promotional fairs every month to promote rural handicraft and handloom. However,no such fair has been held since February this year,mainly because a sudden decision by the department making it mandatory for organisers to install CCTV cameras. As a result,artisans have been left high and dry. On an average, 150-200 artisans used to display their handloom and handicraft items in these fairs. Now,there is uncertainty over the fate of these fairs. The department is yet to start the process to award the contract for installation of CCTV cameras,for which the budget is Rs 5-10 lakh. For the current financial year,the state government had allotted Rs 5.5 crore towards organising 50-60 such fairs. However,not one fair has been organised by the iNDEXT-C so far in this financial year. There have not been been any instructions from police or home department,but we have decided not to organise any fair without CCTV cameras now for security reasons, said C J Patel,director,iNDEXT-C. The department will soon initiate a process to invite tenders for installation of CCTV cameras with Internet connections, he said. An artisan,Heena Chauhan,said,We come from remote areas. Such fairs are platform for us to reach to potential buyers and market our products.
