BHOPAL: Sales are dull at the much-awaited 13-day-long exhibition-cum-sale ‘National Handloom Expo-2016’ at Bhopal Haat. And the villain of the piece is demonestisation.
The expo, that began on December 1, is organised by Madhya Pradesh Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation, Bhopal and sponsored by the Union Ministry of Textiles every year. Weavers from different states including J&K, Bihar, UP, MP, Odisha, West Bengal, Jaipur et al have showcased their handloom products in 52 stalls this year. Last year the number of stalls was 80.
Shopkeepers and customers are facing problems in making payments due to lack of POS machines. The organisers have provided only one machine.
Rashid Bhai, 65 who hails from Srinagar and has been participating in the expo for the past 12 years, says, “Kuchh bhi nahi hai, aap to dekh hi rahee hain, pura Bhopal Haat sunsaan lag raha hai. And everyone knows the reason very well,” adding that “We have one POS machine and mostly people are paying through cards.”
“I’ve been participating in the expo for the past eight years but pichhle saal ke lihaj se is saal sale bilkul zero hai. I have not sold a thing till 6 pm today. Not only us but our customers are also facing cash crunch because they can withdraw only limited amount from ATM and banks. We don’t have POS machine but the organiser of the expo has provided only one or two machines, which are far from stall. It is not looking like a national expo. The government should provide at least one POS machine at every stall,” said Nissar Ali from Kargil District of J&K.
Parimal Dey from West Bengal says, “Sales are very poor this time. The biggest problem is of change. Customers give notes of Rs 2000 for purchasing items worth Rs 300 or 500. From where should we arrange change? Many want to pay through card but we don’t have that facility. I was told that the government has provided POS machines but they are far from my counter.”
“Pahle se to kafi fark pada hai. It is all because of currency ban. The common man has no money. Log pehle khana khayegein ki kharidari karegein. And it is not happening here. It is there all over country. We are coming from Bangalore where we had to suffer great loss,” says Jitendra from Nalanda, who have put up his stall in the expo for the third year in a row.
In the same vein, Asad Ahmed from Ashok Nagar says, “Abhi tak kuchh khas sale nahi hua hai. So far, we have sold goods worth only Rs 14,000. Some customers are giving old notes, which we are not accepting though some others are. Some customers want to pay through card but we don’t have POS machine. Aaj abhi tak to bohni bhi nahi hu and it is happening because of currency ban.”
“I have been coming to the expo for the past many years but this time crowd as well as number of stalls is very less. Kafi khali-khali sa lag raha hai,” said Rashmi Gupta, a homemaker.
‘We could arrange only two machines’ “Due to shortage of POS machine in banks, we were able to provide only two machines. But today, we are using only one machine due to see less number of customers,” said Sudesh Shrivastava, in-charge of Bhopal Haat.
