Frequent trade fairs being held in the city are supposed to have caused a low profit for the artisans and the stall owners who have participated in the Khadi Gramudyog Fair that ended here on Tuesday.
The fair started on November 30 at Parade Ground. Though many of the stall owners hoped that the final day would to some extent compensate the low volume of sale they have been facing since the fair started, but the hope proved elusive with the buyers giving them a short shrift.
Umedh Arya , a fair official, said on Tuesday after the fair ended that the total sale was Rstwo crore and five lakh, an amount that is far from satisfying as against that of the previous few years.
Visiting the fair revealed that the stalls selling Khadi products and the Gandhi Ashrams based in different districts had faced a tough competition among themselves with most of them trailing way behind their targeted sales.
Vijay Bahadur Mishra, who was found selling several items from his stall bearing the name of Gandhi Ashram branch of Dehradun said that as compared to the last Khadi fair, the volume of sale this year had remained substantially less. “Yet, somehow, we have managed to reach the profit of Rs5 lakh. Apart from the khadi clothes which every khadi stall displayed, we have kept silk sarees which drew the customers in a good number. I am convinced that the frequency with which such fairs are being hosted here now accounts for the low volume of sale that this fair has registered,” he added.
Raghuveer Datt Joshi, another stall owner from Haldwani, said that last year they had earned profit of over Rs2 lakh. “But this year, reaching Rs1 lakh has proved difficult. Sad to tell, the only thing which has drawn some buyers to my stall is the khadi cotton kurtas,” he said, adding that things are far better in Haldwani with the annual turnover exceeding Rs8 crore.
“The people are enamoured of the Khadi products there and the sale never flags,” he further said.
“Stall owners selling khadi products have not brought anything new here to attract the customers particularly. The items they sell are available in the markets and the khadi stores. We are having the same variety of products here. They should go for some kinds of novelties to draw people towards them,” said Kanchan Thakur who was found roaming around the fair.
A carpet seller, Taufeeq said the management of the fair charging a hefty had led to their low margin of profit. “I had paid Rs15,000 for the open space aside from extra Rs500 for the stand as to avoid any damage to the carpets. I am yet to earn the amounts taken together so far. Add to it the transportation expenses we have incurred and the sum we have earned here is less than we have spent. Things are really depressing for us,” he added. “Things were different during Saras mela when I sold carpets worth Rs3 lakh. But this time, they are bleak,” he said, despairingly.