Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 25: Even as the Government makes tall claims of promoting Kashmiri handicrafts across the world, artisans of Kashmir have boycotted exhibition of the Handicrafts Department on the Boulevard Road after the organiser failed to provide them adequate facilities to showcase and sell their handicraft products.
The artisans blamed the Apex Marketing Federation (AMF), organizing agency of the exhibition, for not providing them facilities to make the exhibition attractive for customers.
With no adequate facilities available at the ground, the artisans have not opened up their stalls from the day (August 13) to promote and sell the handicraft products to the tourists who flock to Kashmir in this season.
The artisans said that the organizers have to compulsorily manage the ground and provide all the facilities like its cleanliness, install proper lighting system, and provide security for twenty four hours for 15 days till it concludes.
Before installing their stalls at the exhibition site, each artisan has to deposit an amount of Rs 3500 as security and other charges and in turn the organizers provide them all the facilities including publicity of the event.
Besides, demanding that AMF should not conduct any such exhibition for them in future, the artisans also demanded that the organizers should extend the duration of the exhibition as they have lost first five days of the event due to strike.
Event manager of AMF Maqbool Ahmad Farooqui admitted that the artisans’ grievances are genuine and they are ready to provide them some facilities if they call off their boycott of the exhibition.
The event manager said that extending time of the exhibition is upto the Handicraft Department officials.
When asked when the organiser didn’t provide these facilities before the artisans went public, Farooqui had no answers.
Director Handicrafts Salma Hameed was not available for his comments despite repeated phone calls to her.
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