Brisk business for Darjeeling SARAS Mela as it records ‘sales worth more than Rs 9 crore’

Darjeeling: The second edition of Sale of Articles of Rural Artisan Society, SARAS Mela in Darjeeling town also the 8th in the Darjeeling district, battling inclement weather in the initial days, still managed to do better business than the first SARAS in Darjeeling town, last year. Adding to this for the first time, the SARAS mela in the district witnessed institutional buyers (bulk buyers in the B2B model) sealing 22 deals amounting to Rs 74,27,000.

Including institutional sales, the total sales at Darjeeling Saras as of November 16, 2025 (evening) is Rs 93777000. The first SARAS mela in Darjeeling town had recorded a sale of around Rs 7 crore.

“For the first time, we had bulk or institutional buyers. This is a very positive sign as the bulk buyers can tie up with the artisans and buy goods throughout the year thus boosting livelihood, the actual essence of the SARAS melas,” stated Sumedha Pradhan, Executive Director, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and Project Director is District Rural Development Cell (DRDC). The institutional buyers sealed deals on Tulaipanji rice from North Dinajpur, Mekhela sarees and jute bags.

“The Chief Minister of Bengal had inaugurated the mela virtually on October 29. There were 136 stalls, including 100 general stalls, 16 food stalls and 20 open stalls. More than 320 artisans took part in the Mela from the districts of Bengal and from other states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Assam. The fair ended on November 16. After the Kolkata SARAS Mela, this is the largest SARAS Mela in the state,” added Pradhan. The fair was held at the Chowrasta in Darjeeling.

Stalls with the highest sales were felicitated in different categories. For high value products, Birbhum won the first prize recording a sale of Rs 848700 followed by East Bardhaman with a sale of Rs 839154. In the low value product category, North 24-Parganas bagged the first position (Rs 691261 sale) followed by North Dinajpur (Rs 585800).

Assam bagged the first position in the other state category, recording a sale of Rs 1097730 followed by Rajasthan Rs 183300. Among the food stalls, Kurseong recorded the highest with Rs 422790 followed by Cooch Behar Rs 193349.

“We were very worried on the first two days. Owing to the red rainfall warning, the fair was more or less closed. However, after that things normalised and we did good business,” stated Tapati Das of Anondomoyee Mahila Sangha, Malda, while talking to Millennium Post. Adding to this, Samiran Bibi of ‘Beautiful’, an SHG dealing in sarees from Nadia, stated: “We did better business than last year. We will attend next year as well.”

“The fair was a success with most of the stalls replenishing their stocks after a week. Local residents along with tourists, both foreign and domestic, actively participated by buying products as well as enjoying the cultural programmes staged everyday,” added the project director.