In a sad state of things, while the officials manning Kadhi Gramodyog fair claim that the artisans from other States now participating in it are being accommodated at their behest, the artisans assert, it is otherwise.
The artisans say that no such facility is being provided to them, they are perforce putting up at lodges and hotels paying from their own pockets. The fair which started on November 30 and would end on December 15 is being held at Parade Ground and the organizers claim that the sale proceeds have reached to over Rs one crore in 10 days. Artisans from fifteen states are participating in the fair and the number of stalls pitched in the sprawling ground is around 200. The sales would cross Rs two crore, the organizers claim.
Umesh Arya, a fair official, said they are providing the participating artisans who have come from other states with free accommodation in hotels. “However, we are not providing them with food, free of cost,” he said. He further said that the management’s charge for each of Gram Udyog stall is `2000 while that for Khadi stall is `4000.
Asked whether they are being provided with free accommodation as claimed by the fair officials, the artisans from other states rubbished such claims almost in unison, saying that they are paying for their accommodation from their own pockets.
However, some of them are staying in their respective stalls, they said.
While some of them said that their sale was good the others said they were not satisfied with the sale so far with few days left for it to end.
“We are not earning enough by way of profit while we are shelling out a lot to meet our accommodation and other expenses. We are not feeling happy,” said a visibly depressed Mansoor from Jammu and Kashmir who has garments on sale at the fair.
Another Jai Ganesh from Tamil Nadu who has been selling hair oil and the like from the stall he pitched has told the same story. “We are staying in the stall as the fair authority has arranged nothing for us by way of accommodation. The sale is not good either. We do not expect that the profit to be earned from the fair would even equal the expenses we are incurring due to accommodation and the like,” he said.
Observers say if what the artisans from other states have said is true it reflects the State in a bad light.