Balijatra sets new records

CUTTACK: With the winter chill knocking at the doors, Rajasthan blankets and bedsheets are making a strong statement in the Millennium City this year. To meet the  rising demand, Arvind Khatri has sounded out his manufacturing base in the desert State to rush in supplies to replenish the fast depleting stock. With the historic Balijatra fair breaking all records in terms of footfalls this year, the demand for the ethnic winter blankets and sheets has gone up significantly. So much so that the Himraj Handicraft self-help group of Rajasthan, which has set up a stall at the Pallishree Mela section of the fair, has almost exhausted its stock worth more than Rs 10 lakh.  “We have sold products worth over Rs  8 lakh in four days. With the rush continuing, I have asked for supplies of another ` 10 lakh, which will arrive by Tuesday,” says Khatri. The fair has been seeing an average daily visitor inflow of over three lakh. Sunday had shattered all calculations with more than 10 lakh visitors thronging the fair  leading to the consequent explosion in trade and business. Apart from the ethnic handcrafts, textiles and products from different parts of the country, luxurious, decorative and health items have also emerged a big draw among the visitors. For Suparna Haldar of the Haldar Flora SHG group from Kolkata, this Balijatra has been special. The dry flowers and arrangements exhibited by her stall have been a hit. It has over 40 items in dry flowers of various types from sticks ranging from ` 2 to ` 40 to arrangements, bouquet along with palm leaf, branches, etc. “We have sold out over ` 3 lakh worth products of the stock of ` 4 lakh. We have sought reinforcement from Kolkata which is due to arrive tonight,” says Suparna. Puducherry-based ayurvedic and herbal products manufacturer, under the brand Tarika Ayurlabs, Baniprasanna Patnaik also expressed amazement over the response. “People are looking for quality products and will not hesitate to pay more to get them,” he says. Thanks to the footfalls, the organiser of the Pallishree Mela, ORMAS, is upbeat. “In the last four days, we have recorded business of around ` 3 crore and are expected to cross ` 8 crore this year. Last year business was around ` 7.31 crore,” Chief Executive of ORMAS, Cuttack, Bipin Bihari Rout said. The business would encourage SHG movement in the State as more and more groups would take to self enterprise, he avers.