Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Chemical and Fertilizers Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the 32nd edition of “Hunar Haat”, “Perfect Platform” to “promote and preserve” traditional art and craft of the country, in Lucknow today.
In his address after inauguration of the “Hunar Haat”, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said that it is very necessary to promote, encourage and respect the art and craft of the indigenous artisans and craftsmen of the country. The hidden art and craft across the country are being recognised through “Hunar Haat”.
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said that India has been trading in handicrafts all over the world for several centuries. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given the slogan of “Vocal for Local” to fulfil the vision of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (Self-reliant India) which is being carried forward by the “Hunar Haat”.
He said that to increase the income of the artisans and craftsmen of the country, there is a need to provide national as well as international markets to their indigenous handmade products and “Hunar Haat” has proved to be an important platform in this direction. Handicrafts of India have gained fame all over the world through “Hunar Haat”.
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Ministers Shri Suresh Kumar Khanna, Shri Ashutosh Tandon, Shri Siddharthnath Singh, Shri Brijesh Pathak, Shri Jai Pratap Singh and Shri Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi, MoS Smt. Swati Singh, various public representatives, Additional Chief Secretary in UP Government Shri Navneet Sehgal, senior officials of Union Ministry of Minority Affairs and other dignitaries were also present during the inauguration.
On the occasion, Shri Naqvi said that more than 6 lakh 75 thousand artisans, craftsmen and people associated with them have been provided employment and employment opportunities through “Hunar Haat” in the last about 6 years.
Families of great freedom fighter Shaheed Ashfaqullah Khan Ji and other brave martyrs who sacrificed their lives for security and dignity of the country were honoured on the occasion.
People present at the “HunarHaat” gave a big round of applause and standing ovation to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya for India achieving the feat of Corona vaccination of more than 110 crore people in the country.
More than 600 artisans and craftsmen from more than 30 States/UTs are participating in the “Hunar Haat” in Lucknow. Traditional foods from various parts of the country are also available in “Hunar Haat”. Besides “Vishwakarma Vatika”, “Circus” will also be displayed where the Indian Circus artists will perform spectacular diverse traditional entertainment shows.
Renowned artists such as Annu Kapoor, Pankaj Udhas, Kumar Shanu, Alka Yagnik, Altaf Raja, Suresh Vadekar, Sudesh Bhosale, Sadanand Biswas (Kathak artist), Prem Bhatia, Vivek Mishra, Dilbag Singh, Rani Indrani, Shibani Kashyap, Sugandha Mishra, Bhupinder Singh Bhuppi, Mohit Khanna and others will perform various cultural and musical programmes every day in the evening at the “Hunar Haat”, being organised from 12th to 21st November.
The next “Hunar Haats” will be organised at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi (14 to 27 Nov), Hyderabad (26 November to 5 December), Surat (10 to 19 December), JLN Stadium, New Delhi (22 December 2021 to 2 January 2022). “Hunar Haats” will also be organised in Mysuru, Guwahati, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Patna, Puducherry, Mumbai, Jammu, Chennai, Chandigarh, Agra, Prayagraj, Goa, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Kota, Sikkim, Srinagar, Leh, Shillong, Ranchi, Agartala and other places in the coming days.
