Union Minister Naqvi flags off 30th edition of “Hunar Haat in Dehradun

New Delhi, 29 Oct (KNN) Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the 30th edition of “Hunar Haat” at Dehradun today.

Speaking at the inaugural event the Union Minister said that ‘Hunar Haat’ is a unique platform that brings the artisans of the entire nation fr0m Kutch to Cuttack, fr0m Kashmir to Kanyakumari under one roof. He added that “Vishwakarma Vatika” is also one of the main attraction in “Hunar Haats”.

The Union Minister added that the craftsmen’s skills to convert waste products into beautiful handicraft is on display at all these events. He said that the ‘Hunar Haats’ will also offer cuisine fr0m across the nation under the umbrella of ‘Mera Gaon Mera Desh’ as well as cultural programmes by eminent artists to promote the vision of ‘Vocal for Local’.

He assured firm support to provide market to the artisans fr0m the hilly and border areas of Uttarakhand and expressed hope that such an event would become an yearly affair.

During the last about 6 years, more than 5 lakh 60 thousand artisans, craftsmen and people associated with them have been provided employment and employment opportunities through “Hunar Haat”.

Union Minister Naqvi said that after Dehradun, "Hunar Haat" will be organised at Braj Raj Mahotsav, Vrindavan (fr0m 10th November), Lucknow (12 to 21 November), Pragati Maidan, New Delhi (14th to 27th Nov), Hyderabad (26 November to 5 December), Surat (10 to 19 December), New Delhi (22 December 2021 to 2 January 2022). “Hunar Haat” will also be organised in Mysuru, Guwahati, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Patna, Puducherry, Mumbai, Jammu, Chennai, Chandigarh, Agra, Prayagraj, Goa, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Kota, Sikkim, Srinagar, Leh, Shillong, Ranchi, Agartala and other places in the coming days.

In his address after inauguration of “Hunar Haat”, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said that there is no dearth of skilled and talented people in our country. Skilled artisans and craftsmen were looking for a market for their art and crafts. “Hunar Haat” has provided immense market and opportunities to such artisans and craftsmen.

He said that “Hunar Haat” has provided “market for products and products for market”. He added that Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, under the leadership of Shri Naqvi, is providing effective market to artisans and craftsmen even fr0m remote areas of the country.

Organised in Dehradun, this is the 30th “Hunar Haat” in the series of "Hunar Haats", being organised across the country under "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav". About 500 artisans and craftsmen fr0m more than 30 States and Union Territories including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu-Kashmir, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have brought their indigenous products made with wood, brass, bamboo, glass, cloth, paper, clay etc at “Hunar Haat” in Dehradun. Handmade products prepared by inmates of Dehradun jail are also available at the “Hunar Haat”.

Besides “Vocal for Local”, “Hunar Haat” is also based on the theme of “Best fr0m Waste”. Exquisite products made fr0m used and discarded items in households such as plastic, paper, ply, wood, glass, ceramic, jute, cotton, wool as well as banana stems, sugarcane pulp, paddy and wheat straw-stems, husk, Tur, rubber, iron, brass, etc are available in “Hunar Haat”.

Renowned artists such as Kailash Kher, Daler Mehndi, Pankaj Udhas, Sudesh Bhosle, Vinod Rathore, Rekha Raj, Rani Indrani, Prem Bhatia, Bhupendra Singh Bhuppi, Hamsar Hayat and others will perform various musical, cultural programmes in the evening every day at “Hunar Haat” in Dehradun.

“Hunar Haat” is also available at virtual and online platform http://hunarhaat.org and GeM portal. People of the country and abroad can buy “Hunar Haat” products digital and online also.

Lok Sabha MP and former Uttarakhand CM Shri Tirath Singh Rawat, Lok Sabha MP Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal, Secretary, Union Minority Affairs Ministry Renuka Kumar and other senior officials were present at the function.