Srinagar: Inaugurating the ‘UMEED Market Place’ under the Airport as Venue for Skilled Artisans of the Region (AVSAR) scheme of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) at Srinagar International Airport Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Wednesday said that 5 lakh women would get benefits from the scheme yearly.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that a similar marketplace was also opened at Jammu airport and that both the outlets would exhibit products of all 20 districts.
The LG said that the initiative would 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.
He said that the products of Self Help Groups would get exposed to the national market, strengthen the local artisan community, and provide sufficient promotional avenues for their products.
The LG also interacted with the Self Help Group members present there and congratulated them on the new marketplace.
An official spokesman said that Commissioner Secretary to the Government, Rural Development, and Panchayati Raj Department Mandeep Kaur briefed the LG about the AVSAR scheme conceptualised by the AAI.
The spokesman said that the marketplace at both the airports would provide huge visibility to the members of SHGs and promote their products to a wider spectrum, reaching out to the larger population and making rural handicraft products available at reasonable prices to the passengers.
He said that Mission Director JKRLM Indu Kanwal Chib informed the LG about the opportunities being provided to the artisans and SHG members at the new marketplace.
The spokesman said that more than five lakh women would benefit every year from stalls and counters offered to them for 15 days on a rotational basis.
He said that it would also serve as a point for passengers to place bulk orders and request customised demands for corporate gifting as well.
Earlier, the LG unveiled a 20×20 ft LED video wall at the Srinagar airport.
The inauguration ceremony commenced with the display of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ theme on the LED video wall commemorating 75 years of independence.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Pandurang K Pole, Airport Director Srinagar Kuldeep Singh, Airport Director Jammu Sanjeev Kumar Garg, Deputy Commissioner Budgam Shahbaz Mirza, AMD RLM Kashmir Riyaz Ahmad Beigh, AMD RLM Jammu Mridhu Slathia, Director Orango Solutions Navneet Singh and senior officials were present during the inauguration of the marketplace under AVSAR scheme at both the airports.