Fairs provide platform to sell locally produced goods

A Correspondent

DHUBRI, April 3: All fairs trace their roots to the traditiol system of trading and marketing when there was hardly any commercial hub located in the villages and nearby areas. Centuries ago, villagers did not go frequently to markets located far away from their villages, rather the market in the form of fair reached their doorsteps to fulfil their need of wide range of commodities. This tradition is still alive but it only got transformed from fairs to festivals with the passage of time. However, the mode of trading commodities remains same. Ashoka Ashtami Mela of Dhubri provides a strong platform to sell the products locally produced by craftsmen and artisans. It also unites traders coming from other States with local ones. As many as eight local big fairs are held across the lower Assam districts round the year which provide a huge market for goods locally produced, that too without any institutiol or government fincial assistance.

Talking to The Sentinel, Kulodhar Das, a social activist of Gauripur, informed that this trade had grown over the years without any assistance. “Terracotta, pit-craft, pottery items, toys, brooms, door mats, wall decorations, cane and bamboo items and handloom products are some of the items which have tremendous fincial potential in the market to the tune of Rs 25 crore to Rs 30 crore,” Das said. A pottery artisan of Dhubri town, Dev Kumar informed that a terracotta artisan and craftsman could earn Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 even in a small village-level fair during Durga Puja.