Next Hunar Haat in Rampur from October 16: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

**EDS: TWITTER IMAGE POSTED BY @narendramodi, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19, 2020** New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi stops at a snacks stall at 'Hunar Haat' at Rajpath in New Delhi, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. During a surprise visit to the event PM Modi also relished 'litti-chokha'. (PTI Photo) (PTI2_19_2020_000093B)

The next "Hunar Haat" will be organised at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh between October 16 and 25 as part of 75 such fairs to be organised across the country under the "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" to celebrate 75 years of India's Independence, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Sunday.

A target has been set to provide employment opportunities to lakhs of more artisans and craftsmen through 75 such haats, he added.

He said Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who also holds the education portfolio, will inaugurate the 29th "Hunar Haat" on October 16.

Artisans and craftsmen from more than 30 states and UTs will bring their indigenous exquisite handmade products for sale and display in Rampur.

The states and UTs to be represented include Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Punjab, Uttrakhand, Ladakh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Naqvi said their indigenous products made with wood, brass, bamboo, glass, cloth, paper and clay will adorn the event.

He said a "Vishwakarma Vatika" will be one of the main attractions with the artisans displaying live how these traditional indigenous products are made.

It will be helpful in preserving and promoting the traditional art and craft of the country, he added.

Besides "vocal for local", a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote local products, the upcoming haat will also be based on the theme of "best from waste", the minister said.

Exquisite products made from used and discarded items in households such as plastic, paper, plywood, glass, ceramic, jute, cotton, wool as well as banana stems, sugarcane pulp, paddy and wheat straw-stems, husk, Tur, rubber, iron and brass will be available.

Naqvi said people will also enjoy traditional food from almost every corner of the country under one roof in the "bawarchikhana" section.

Noted artists such as Pankaj Udhas, Kailash Kher, Anu Kapoor, Sudesh Bhosle, Kumar Sanu, Roop Kumar Rathore, Sonali Rathore, Altaf Raja, Nizami Brothers, Vivek Mishra, Neelam Chauhan, Rekha Raj, Prem Bhatia, Bhupendra Singh Bhuppi and Nooran sisters will also perform.

After Rampur, the Haat will be organised at Dehradun (October 29-November 7), Lucknow (November 12-21), Hyderabad ( November 26-December 5), Surat (December 10-19), New Delhi (December 22-January 2).

It 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 weeks, he said.

(With PTI inputs)