‘State providing land for pvt players to set up malls in dists’

Kolkata: The state government is providing an acre of land at every district headquarters, inviting private players to set up shopping malls on the condition of dedicating two of its floors to the state’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) for marketing their various products.

“Our SHGs manufacture a variety of products but do not have adequate marketing platforms. To provide them a wider scope for marketing, we have decided to allocate one acre of land at every district headquarters and urge private players to set up shopping malls. They will have to dedicate two floors for our SHGs so that they can showcase and sell their products. Our objective is to provide a wider marketing scope to the SHGs in district, village and at block level,” said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in an audio address over the telephone at the inaugural ceremony of the Bengal Shopping Festival that kicked off at Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan from Friday.

Banerjee said that she was unable to reach the event physically because of her engagement in monitoring the flood situation. She highlighted three new showrooms of Banglar Saree that were launched on Friday, including one at New Town, one at Durgachowk Haldia and another at Phulia in Nadia. There are four Banglar Saree showrooms already, including one at Delhi’s Banga Bhavan.

Banerjee urged the Confederation of West Bengal Trade Associations (CWBTA) which is organising the Bengal Shopping Festival in collaboration with WBIDC to host similar events once every year ahead of Durga Puja. “This type of festival upholds the honour and prestige of Bengal,” she maintained. Amit Mitra, principal chief advisor to the CM and Finance department, stated that for the first time in India, 144 platforms of traditional artisans, showcasing crafts that would otherwise require visiting remote villages, were brought together under one roof..” He added: “The event emphasises the crucial role of consumption, which accounts for 60 per cent of India’s GDP and Bengal’s vast workforce, which includes 3.62 crore employees.” Minister Shashi Panja called the festival a celebration of the state’s rich culture, craftsmanship and economic progress.

Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, Alapan Bandopadhyay, chairman, WBIDC also graced the event. The Shopping Festival will continue till September 24.