HYDERABAD: The Telangana chapter of the India Handmade Collective (IHMC) was inaugurated at the Indira Mahila Shakti Bazar near Hitec City in Hyderabad on Friday with the launch of an IHMC pavilion and experience centre showcasing handmade products crafted by rural artisans.
Actor and animal-rights activist Akkineni Amala, SERP chief executive officer Divya Devarajan, textile expert Vijaya Lakshmi Narne and agricultural scientist GV Ramanjaneyalu inaugurated the pavilion, where a sale-cum-exhibition of handcrafted products is being organised.
Divya Devarajan said the land where the Indira Mahila Shakti Bazar now stands was once abandoned and caught in legal disputes.
She noted that while the land could have fetched more than Rs 500 crore if auctioned, the state government allocated it for women’s empowerment.
According to her, the government spent about Rs 9 crore to transform what resembled a dumping ground into a facility where rural SHG women can showcase and sell their products.