New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) Sale and placing of orders worth over Rs 12 crore took place at the Hunar Haat here with exquisite indigenous products of artisans and craft persons getting a major boost, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday.

Over 550 artisans and crafts persons from more than 30 states and union territories (UTs) participated in the 33rd Hunar Haat, organised at the India International Trade Fair at the Pragati Maidan from November 14 to 27.

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Speaking with reporters at the conclusion of haat, Naqvi said that while people purchased indigenous exquisite handmade products, the artisans and crafts persons also received orders from national as well as international buyers.

The sale of the products and orders placed during this Hunar Haat amounts to over Rs 12 crore, he said.

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The Hunar Haat also received the India International Trade Fair, 2021, silver medal for strengthening commitment to the 'vocal for local' initiative and for its strong presence at the fair.

Naqvi said that while on one hand, visitors made large-scale purchases of indigenous traditional products from every corner of the country at the haat, on the other, renowned artists from various parts of the country mesmerised the audience through their cultural and musical programmes.

The visitors also enjoyed a "circus" at the Hunar Haat, where artists performed spectacular entertainment shows.

Naqvi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mantra of 'vocal for local' has encouraged and promoted India's traditional and ancestral legacy of handloom-handicraft.

With 300 stalls, this was the largest participation in the India International Trade Fair this year by the Union ministry of minority affairs.

The Canara Bank had also set up a stall at the Hunar Haat to provide easy loans to artisans and crafts persons for employment and self-employment.

Renowned artists such as Annu Kapoor, Vinod Rathore, Sudesh Bhosale, Roop Kumar Rathore and Sonali Rathore, Suresh Wadekar and Padma Wadekar, Amit Kumar, Mohit Khanna, Prem Bhatia, Osman Mir, Rekha Raaj, Vivek Mishra, among others, performed at Hunar Haat.

The next Hunar Haat will be organised at Surat (December 11 to 20) and thereafter, at the JLN Stadium, New Delhi (December 22 to January 2, 2022).

Hunar Haats 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.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)