Bhubaneswar, Jan 20: Organised by Boyanika, the National Level Handloom Expo 2021 was inaugurated amid much fan fare at Exhibition Ground here Wednesday.
Minsiter Of Handloom, Textiles and Handicrafts Padmini Dian inaugurated the expo in the presence of Minister of Science and Technology, Public Enterprise, Social Security and Empowerment of PwD Ashok Chandra Panda and Bhubaneswar Central MLA Ananta Narayan Jena.
With around 134 stalls, the expo featured nine yard traditional saree along with various handicrafts.
Interacting with Orissa POST, Dian said, “The government is quite concerned about our weavers and that is why we have organised this expo. Weavers have participated in large numbers and I am expecting all the losses incurred during Covid to be recovered through the fest.”
Ashok Panda said, “Our handicrafts and handloom are world famous and the state government is ready to make this expo successful as the Covid threat is diminishing due to the vaccination drive. The government is concerned about the weavers’ welfare both financially and technically.”
Jena said that the popularity of Odissi handloom is sky rocketing. “From foreign buyers to Bollywood stars, all are buying our products. Our technique in making Odia sarees and dress materials have made weavers of other states exchange ideas with us. A healthy financial package for weavers is always the priority of our state government.”
The centre of attraction was the theme pavilion which showcased every single type of Odissi saree, from Maniabandha to Sambalpuri to Ikkat.
Live sessions on block print and saree making too attracted the visitors. Apart from Odisha, weavers from states like New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal are participating in the expo.
The expo is open for public from 11.30 am to 9.30 pm. The expo is committed to achieve a profit of Rs 10 crore this year. All precautionary Covid guidelines are being followed at the expo.
Subha Sharma, commissioner-cum-secretary handlooms, textiles and handicraft department, Jyoti Prakash Das, director, textiles and handloom, Odisha and managing director of Boyanika were also present at the function.
