Artisans who have assembled at VJT Hall here from all over the country for a handicraft exhibition are upset over the schedule of the event, lack of facilities, and poor hospitality extended to them.
Abu Karim Ansari, an artisan dealing in hand-print clothes from Bhagalpur in Bihar, says “This will be my first and last visit to this place.”
Many are miffed at the attitude of the authorities. Tanuja Chandel, an artisan in Kashmiri phirans and chikan-work says, “I complained about the poor lighting. There was no response. They think they are doing the artisans a favour by organising such exhibitions.”
Artisans who have come from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Kashmir are unhappy with the timing of the exhibition as monsoon has set in. The response from the citizens has been damp at best.
“I gave Rs.20,000 as freight charges to bring my porcelain and clay showpieces here. My stall is outside the hall and the wares are drenched in rain,” says an artisan from Andhra Pradesh.
N. Nelson, manager of the exhibition, said the artisans could be given only around Rs.1,000 as freight charges. “There are 80 other artisans and we get around Rs.12 lakh to Rs.13 lakh of grant from the Centre. We have to book the place and there are other miscellaneous charges.”
One of the youngest of the lot, 27-year-old Karim says, “There are no food outlets or tea shops here. We have to be in the venue throughout.”
Artisans like Tanuja and Karim are not happy with the management.
“The place is congested. They should have either booked a larger venue or should have at least tried to minimise the damage caused by the rain. If we complain, they scold us.”
“We provided VJT Hall because we knew it might rain. We could have set it up in a field but we didn’t. The artisans are upset because not many people are turning up,” Mr. Nelson says
“The Prime Minister talks about ‘Make in India’ but if this is how artisans are going to be treated, I don’t know how the empowerment will happen,” says Tanuja.
