Fest stall-runners demand extension
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 29 2011:
In a symbolic protest stall-runners at the ongoing Manipur Sangai Tourism festival abstained from trading their wares against indecision of the festival organisers to their proposal for extending the fair for two more days.
The stalls, however, reopened from late afternoon even though their demand for extending the fair has not been approved by the Government with Commissioner (Tourism) KK Chhetry informing some newspersons that the peeved stall-runners would be given the accommodation priority when a similar fair is organised in the early part next year.
Chhetry cited security reasons related to the proposed visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and AICC president Sonia Gandhi to the State for the Government's stand to wrap up the Festival as scheduled.
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Urging further cooperation of the stall-runners to ensure smooth conduct of the ongoing Manipur Sangai Tourism Festival, the Commissioner suggested that the Government of Manipur be jointly apprised for holding another trade fair next year.
Meanwhile, speaking to newspersons at the Hapta Kangjeibung venue of the Festival, the stall-runners conceded that proceeds from sale of items had been below average.
Citing various agitations that coincided with the festival such as bandh, general strike and economic blockade, they maintained that compared to the deposit amount that ranged between Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 the sale of items had been meagre till date.
Lamenting that their humble request for extending the festival is yet to evoke a positive response from authorities of Manipur Tourism Department, the stall-runners disclosed that no deposit was levied at the previous festivals and their profit was satisfactory.
The other complaints highlighted by the stall-runners included absence of parking facility for the stall-runners and fee collected for use of toilet.
Moreover, this time around majority of the items put on sale were foreign goods unlike the past wherein emphasis was on promoting indigenous handloom and handicraft products.