RAYAGADA: Curtains came down on the five-day annual Chaiti and Pallishree Mela at GCD High School Ground here on Wednesday. More than 50,000 people gathered at the venue where tribal poet Haldhar Nag released the souvenir, Chaitali.
Addressing the gathering Nag said, sincere effort and honesty never go futile and the loyalty always comes with a reward. Chaiti has been providing a platform to the latent talents to interact with each other and showcase their skills.
Collector Guha Punam Tapas Kumar said, the district administration will initiate all out efforts to give PVTGs, like Dongria Kondh and Lanjia Soura, a recognition and promote them to acquire the international forum to exhibit their cultural expertise and their enriched handicrafts.
Among others, Secretary of Ramkrushna Mission Hata Muniguda Swami Bisokananda, SP K Siba Subramani, Sub Collector Muralidhar Swain, ADM Laxmikant Behera and other officials were present.
The five-day Pallishree Mela organised on the sidelines of Chaiti Festival-2016 recorded a good turnover even as demonetisation threatened to spoil the business of small-time vendors and traders.
Apprehending trouble in cash transactions, District Supply and Marketing Society (DSMS) and district administration arranged nearlyRs 3 lakh in small denomination notes like Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100.
The State Bank of India (SBI) also installed a swipe machine for trouble-free marketing. Regional Manager, SBI, M Kanna Babu said people received more than Rs 2 lakh of change from the SBI counter and provided coins of various denominations to the vendors in last two days.
Chaiti and Pallishree Mela is boom time for vendors. From SHGS to rural vendors to small businessman set up 500 kiosks from the beginning of the mela.
From toys to garments, plastic home utility items, to leather products were sold by vendors from nine states of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Fast food joints too did brisk business.
Nearly 120 SHGs from across the State have set up stalls and deal in herbal and home-made products like badi and papad, turmeric powder, honey and various kinds of pickles. Chief Executive, DSMS, A Uma Mahesh said on the first day of Pallishree Mela it registered a turnover of Rs 58 lakh and Rs 72 lakh business.