VIJAYAWADA: The renovated Lepakshi Handicrafts Emporium at Gandhi Nagar in the city will be inaugurated soon. Lepakshi Crafts Vice-Chairman and Managing Director IV Lakshminath on Wednesday said that the renovated emporium will have wood carvings from Chittoor, Kalamkari paintings, rock idols from Durgi, Adivasi paintings from Udhiti, bronze items from Seethampeta, wooden knives from Udayagiri, Bobbili Veena, Etikoppaka and Kondapalli toys, Pedana and Mangalagiri handloom sarees, Kalamkari Block Prints and other handicrafts.
He further said that the Andhra Pradesh Handicrafts Development Corporation (APHDC) was formed by the government to protect the interests of nearly two lakh artisans dependent on handicrafts for their livelihood. In all, the State has 17 Lepakshi emporiums and three more in Kolkata, New Delhi and Hyderabad. “We are focusing on promotion and marketing of handicrafts through Lepakshi emporiums and set a `50 crore turnover target for the current fiscal,” he said.
Recently, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the APHDC to conduct design workshops based on the market demand and promote the AP handicrafts brand image by identifying the export markets, Lakshminath said.