Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today inaugurated "UMEED Market Place" under AVSAR Scheme of Airport Authority of India at Srinagar International airport.
A similar Marketplace was also opened at Jammu Airport. Both the outlets will exhibit products of all 20 districts.
The Lt Governor said that the initiative will support local art and artisans of Self Help Groups of J&K Rural Livelihood Mission, providing a platform to market local products directly to the customers.
The products of Self Help Groups will get exposed to the national market, strengthen the local artisan community and provide sufficient promotional avenues to their products, he added.
The Lt Governor also interacted with the Self Help Group members present there and congratulated them for the new market place.
Mandeep Kaur, Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj department briefed the Lt Governor about the AVSAR scheme (Airport as Venue for Skilled Artisans of the Region) conceptualized by the Airports Authority of India.
The marketplace at both the Airports will provide huge visibility to the members of SHGs and promote their products to a wider spectrum, reaching out to the larger population and make rural handicraft products available at reasonable prices to the passengers.
Indu Kanwal Chib, Mission Director, JKRLM informed the Lt Governor about the opportunities being provided to the artisans and SHG members at the new market place.
More than five lakh women will benefit every year from stalls & counters offered to them for 15 days on rotational basis. It will also serve as a point for passengers to place bulk orders and request for customized demands for corporate gifting as well, it was informed.
Earlier, the Lt Governor unveiled a 20X20 ft LED Video wall at Srinagar Airport. The inauguration ceremony commenced with the display of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ theme on the LED Video Wall commemorating 75 years of Independence.
Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Kuldeep Singh, Airport Director Srinagar; Sanjeev Kumar Garg, Airport Director Jammu; Shahbaz Mirza, Deputy Commissioner Budgam; Riyaz Ahmad Beigh, AMD RLM Kashmir; Mridhu Slathia, AMD RLM Jammu; Navneet Singh, Director Orango Solutions, besides senior officials were present during the inauguration of Market Place under AVSAR Scheme at both the airports.