UP to set up its first handicraft park

Lucknow, Aug 27 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh government is building the first handicrafts park in Sector 29 of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).

According to the government spokesman, a total of 76 industrialists have acquired land at the park spread over an area of 50 acres to set up their factories at the cost of Rs 403 crore.

The factories being set up at the park will provide permanent employment to 22,144 people.

The maiden handicrafts park of UP will feature workshops, factories and outlets making, showcasing and selling the wide ranging handicrafts of the state to the domestic and global visitors, aiming at conserving the traditional crafts, providing employment to thousands of artisans of the state and boosting the handicrafts sector's contribution to the state's economy.

UP's rich traditional handicrafts include Banarasi sarees, brass works of Moradabad, perfumes of Kannauj, chikankari of Lucknow and terracotta art of Gorakhpur that have achieved global recognition.

Every district of the state has at least one special product that is integral to its identity.

The park will showcase their craftsmanship to the world and also enable people to get all famous handicrafts of UP under the same roof.

It will also provide a huge market for these products, boosting UP's handicrafts business.

People living in Delhi and Noida will also have easy access to the handicrafts of Lucknow, Meerut, Bareilly, Firozabad, Agra, Varanasi, Chandauli, Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Azamgarh, Mirzapur and Jhansi and Lalitpur.

Prominent among the 76 investors at the park include Vikas Exports, which deals in wood, metal and marble works. Vikas Exports has been allotted 5,000 square metres of land to set up its venture.

Similarly, land has been allotted to The Silk Factory, Rateria Exports, Narayan Creation, Wazir Chand & Co, Dux India Industries Pvt Ltd, Dawar Footwear Industries and Specialist Home Concepts.

The park is located near the upcoming Jewar airport which will facilitate exports.

It is noteworthy that the Yogi government's schemes like ODOP as well as Vishwakarma Shram Samman, seek to promote both local artisans and local handicrafts and artworks.

The Matikala Board, formed on the initiative of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, seeks to protect and promote local artisans. The artisans are provided training and market facilities as part of the initiative.