HT Correspondent
TEZPUR, Jan 4: Minister for Panchayat and Rural Development, PHE, F&CS, etc., Ranjeet Kumar Dass inaugurated the 10 day long ‘Asomi Saras Mela 2022’ that began on Monday at the Nehru Maidan (Church field) here.
The Asomi Saras Mela is organised twice a year by the Assam State Rural Livelihood Campaign which is a unique initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development of the Government of India to market rural goods, providing income-generating opportunities to self-help groups and rural artisans. This is the first time that the very business conclave is being organised at Tezpur as part of the 8th Annual Asomi Saras Mela under the joint venture of the Sonitpur district administration and Assam State Rural Livelihood Campaign, Sonitpur. Out of a total of 106 stalls, 76 from different districts of Assam and 30 from different states of the country are participating in the ten-day long expo.
Formally inaugurating the expo, Ranjit Kumar Dass, minister for Panchayats and Rural Development, Food and Civil Affairs, officially expressed his satisfaction over the quality of the products produced by the SHGs and said that there was a plan to increase the GDP of Assam through SHGs as compared to Gujarat. MP Pallav Lochan Das, Tezpur MLA Prithiraj Rabha, MLA of Barchala Ganesh Kumar Limbu, MLA Rangapara Krishna Kamal Tanti, chairman of Sonitpur Zila Parishad, Doly Surin, Sonitpur DC Bhupesh Chandra Das, State Mission director of ASRLM Krishna Baruah. The well-decked expo is being able to gain attraction from all corners of the state.
Besides exhibition of different goods, special events like run, activities presented by children of ‘Nabaprabhat’ orphanage, workshop on tourism by the department of tourism, Sonitpur district, workshop on food processing by District Industrial Centre, workshop on marketing, pricing and branding, free health/dental camps, drawing competitions, quiz competitions, self-help group loan fairs and traditional sports competitions are the major attraction of the ten-day long expo. Moreover, cultural events like Mitali Barthakur and her group’s dance performances, Assamese popular singer Roopam Bhuyan’s Cultural Evening (North East Bridge Band), performance by artist Jurmalaya Das and staging of plays by Baan Theatre family are also among other attractions. The expo is co-sponsored by SIDBI, NABARD and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Rural Strategy Development Scheme, providing a platform for customers to exchange innovative ideas, develop skills and spread knowledge about traditional materials for artists from different parts of the country.
