Outlet featuring tribal products to be opened at Surat International Airport soon

The licence has been awarded to Visdalia Cluster, run by the Forest Department, in the Mandvi taluka of Surat district.

Surat Forest Department sources stated that the Visdalia Cluster is managed by a self-help group of tribal communities, which operates malls near the forest department office in Mandvi and in Surat city.

The group produces Bamboo products, tribal artefacts, organic products, honey, millet products, and furniture.

According to the letter, 15 square meters of space has been allotted to the Visdalia Cluster for a period of three years. An interest-free security deposit of Rs 1,77,977 shall be payable to the Airport Authority of India for setting up the outlet.

As per the terms and conditions, the shop should be operated by the forest department or its sponsored agency through permanent or contractual employees, and no subletting to any private agency is allowed. The selected bidder/licensee/concessionaire shall apply to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) for Security Clearance, within a period of 10 days. The licensee shall employ only Indian nationals and verify their antecedents before employing them for the job. The licensee shall ensure that no person of doubtful antecedents and nationality is in any way associated with the outlet.

Talking to The Indian Express, Deputy Conservator of Forest Puneet Nayyar said, “We hope to start the outlet at Surat International Airport by next month. Once the outlet starts at the Surat airport, the products of tribals will get a major boost with several national and international passengers getting a chance to buy them.”