24,000 foreign tourists visit Surajkund fair

In the first six days of the fortnight-long annual fair, the footfall in the 28th Surajkund International Crafts Mela in Haryana's Faridabad district has crossed 1.75 lakh, including nearly 24,000 international visitors.
Stating this today, member of Surajkund Mela Authority and Haryana Tourism MD, Sumita Misra said the fair was attracting people from different walks of life and across age groups.
She said only craftspersons enlisted in the list given by the government are allowed to set up their stalls in the Mela after screening which include national and state awardees.
She said that the main motive behind organising such a grand fair is to provide the craftspersons an opportunity to sell their products directly to the buyers without the involvement of middlemen.

Misra said that the Surajkund Mela Authority made elaborate transport arrangements and with the cooperation of Haryana Roadways, special buses were being run for visitors.
She said that these buses are operational between 8 am and 5.30 pm from Inter State Bus Terminus in Delhi to Surajkund.

For the convenience of senior citizens and physically-challenged persons, she said a Golf Cart and a battery-operated rickshaw are available on request.
The Crafts Mela, which has Goa as its theme state this year and Sri Lanka as 'partner country', was inaugurated by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on February 1.
This year, craftspersons, weavers, cultural troupes and artistes from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Portugal, Iran, Uganda, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Thailand and SAARC nations Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan are participating.