THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kudumbashree Mission has recorded a sale of Rs 12.21 crore in the seventh edition of the National SARAS Mela, which concluded recently at Kanakakkunnu. Of the total sales from the mela, Rs 11.38 crore revenue was generated from the product stalls and Rs 82.37 lakh from the food court.
The 12-day mela held from March 30 to April 10 witnessed overwhelming response from city folks with the stalls seeing huge crowds almost every day. The SARAS mela was held for the first time in Thiruvananthapuram. The sixth edition was held in Kannur in 2019 and the revenue then was Rs 9.76 crore.
“This is the highest revenue earned in the SARAS mela organised in the state till date. On the first day of the fair, it recorded a turnover of Rs 4.63 lakh and gradually the sales started soaring. In five days, the sales exceeded more than Rs 1 crore and on the 10th day, it crossed the Rs 7-crore mark.
A major part of the profit was earned from handloom, food products and handicrafts. In the food court, the highest sale was recorded by a stall from Kozhikode. It recorded sales worth nearly Rs 9 lakh. The second-highest sales was registered by Malappuram,” said a Kudumbashree official.
Handlooms from Thrissur, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram were among the most sought-after products at the mela. The maximum revenue was made by Vismaya Handloom, a Kudumbashree unit from Thrissur which recorded sales of over Rs 10 lakh, followed by Kudumbashree units from Palakkad such as Ayswarya Herbals and Dhanasree with a turnover of Rs 9.95 lakh and Rs 9.98 lakh, respectively.
A jackfruit unit from Alappuzha, Jack World, run by Jyothi Lathikaraj, won the best stall award. The stall had sales of Rs 5.63 lakh. Biodegradable sanitary pad venture Ela Green won the second prize. The unit recorded sales worth Rs 4.5 lakh. The third best stall was awarded to a painting unit from West Bengal that used natural dyes for all the art works. The food stall from Malappuram recorded sales of Rs 6.11 lakh and it was followed by Attappadi, with Rs 4.1 lakh. Stalls from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh recorded a turnover of Rs 4.05 lakh and Rs 3.74 lakh, respectively.
New highs
Tota sales recorded: Rs 12.21 crore from product stalls
Rs 11.38 cr from food court Rs 82.37