Exhibitors lament limited space at this year's Kashmir expo

New Delhi, Jan 3 (UNI) Exhibitors at the Kashmir expo have lamented non-allotment of enough space for them by the Delhi government to display handicrafts in the national capital this year.

Several exhibitors said the expo used to be organised at a parking lot of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation at Baba Kharak Singh Marg in Connaught Place area till last year.

The exhibition area used to be around 40,000 sq ft, where about 40-50 stalls were established, they added.

However, the state government could not allot the space this year as a multi-storey parking facility was being set up there.

The exhibitors said a small space of around 5,000 sq ft only was allotted to them this year.

''After great difficulty, we could establish only 27 stalls to showcase shawls, chain stitch, carpets, crewel, embroidery, jewellery, wood carving, paper machie, namdha, tapestry and other items,'' said Mushtaq Ahmed, an exhibitor.

The exhibitors rejected a suggestion by Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh that the Kashmir expo could be held at Dwarka on the city outskirts in the near future.

''We cannot get any customer there. Connaught Place is the heart of Delhi. Tourists from all over the world visit CP and make purchases worth millions of dollars. We too get our share from that,'' said Fayaz Ahmed, another exhibitor.

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