Nearly ten lakh people are expected to visit the annual fortnight-long crafts fair, which begins at Surajkund in Faridabad from Tuesday.
The silver jubilee edition of the fair, whose theme state this year will be Andhra Pradesh with the partner country being Uzbekistan, will be inaugurated by Union Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay.
"The visitors this time are expected to touch 10 lakh mark and will cross the 7.54 lakh recorded last year," Haryana's Tourism Minister O P Jain said today.
Andhra Pradesh has been made the theme state for the third time. Often described as mini-India, the eagerly awaited fair will come alive in vivid colours bringing to focus Indian folk traditions and cultural heritage.
The 15-day fair serves craftsmen with exquisite skills and talents, not only from different parts of India, but also from countries like Uzbekistan, Thailand and the neighbouring SAARC nations, as a platform to showcase their talent.
"Highly sophisticated CCTV cameras have been installed for security and e-surveillance and special fire safety measures have been taken," Jain said, outling security arrangements for the fair.
Organised under the aegis of Union Tourism Ministry, it also takes collective and concerted effort of various agencies like the Development Commissioners of Handicrafts and Handlooms, and the Ministries of Culture and External Affairs in organising the mega event, he said. Haryana Tourism and the Tourism Department of Andhra Pradesh, whose Tourism Minister Vatti Vasant Kumar was also present at Surajkund today, will jointly conduct and coordinate the arrangements. Special evacuation plans have been put in place for meeting any kind of diversion of traffic due to heavy footfall, Jain said.
{{/usCountry}}Organised under the aegis of Union Tourism Ministry, it also takes collective and concerted effort of various agencies like the Development Commissioners of Handicrafts and Handlooms, and the Ministries of Culture and External Affairs in organising the mega event, he said. Haryana Tourism and the Tourism Department of Andhra Pradesh, whose Tourism Minister Vatti Vasant Kumar was also present at Surajkund today, will jointly conduct and coordinate the arrangements. Special evacuation plans have been put in place for meeting any kind of diversion of traffic due to heavy footfall, Jain said.
{{/usCountry}}In the past, the fair has been inaugurated by various eminent personalities including President Pratibha Patil and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.