Debnath inaugurates 12th 'Banglar taant er haat'

Kolkata: Demonetisation had harmed the Taant industry in West Bengal, alleged minister of state for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Swapan Debnath, while inaugurating the 12th 'Banglar taant er haat' at Central Park mela ground in Salt Lake on Friday. He also informed that the event will be held at Salt Lake instead of Milan Mela ground from now on.

"The sales in the fair has increased a lot since 2011. In 2016, the amount was Rs 4.32 crore. In 2017, the amount increased to Rs 5.85 crore. It is expected that the amount will go up this year as well," said Debnath.

According to the officials connected with the event, the fair has been organised keeping the upcoming Durga Puja festival in mind. The fair will go on till September 23. "Before puja we Bengali's usually buy new clothes for ourselves and our family members. Keeping the fact in mind, we selected the date," said an official from the MSME department.

Apart from this, the organisers have thought of some unique steps. Three credit/debit card transaction kiosks have been installed at the mela ground. If any trader with a stall does not posses a card swiping machine, then the kiosks will be there to help them. The customer will be accompanied by a employee of the trader to a kiosk with a valid purchase bill. Operators at the kiosk will swipe the credit/debit card for payment. The amount will be credited to a government-owned account, which will be transferred later to the trader's account.

During the inaugural programme, Debnath unveiled five designer sarees manufactured by Tantuja. He said: "In this year's fair, 270 stall have been installed. We need to provide more platforms to our taanti brothers and sisters, as instructed by our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee."

Plastic carry bags have been banned at the fair. Instead of plastic, traders are using bags made of jute and other eco-friendly materials.