Divya Kala Mela 2023 starts off at MMRDA Grounds in BKC, Mumbai

: Mumbai, February 16, 2023

Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar assured all possible help to the disabled and said that disabled people have an important role to play in the making of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. He said that the whole country is moving in the direction of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and this goal cannot be achieved without making divyangjans self-reliant.

The Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister inaugurated  the Divya Kala Mela 2023 at MMRDA Ground-1 at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai today (February 16, 2023). Shri Ramdas Athawale, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment and Lok Sabha MP Shri Gopal Shetty were also present on the occasion.

Speaking at the inaugural function, Dr. Virendra Kumar said that the Central Government has made several schemes to promote entrepreneurship and craftsmanship amongst specially-abled persons. These skills are implemented  to provide training, skills and finance to the divyang brothers and sisters, he added.

MoS Dr. Ramdas Athawale said that Divya Kala Mela is an initiative to create a market for products made by divyangjans. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has tried to provide a platform to Divyang craftsmen, entrepreneurs and artists for marketing their skills and products and thereby to make them feel confident, he added. Divyangjans are blessed with special abilities and talents that are manifested thorugh their artistic skills, he said. The country is changing, along with it, a positivity is also coming in society’s thinking process for the specially-abled, said MoS Dr. Athawale.   

Around 200 disabled artisans, artists and entrepreneurs from around 22 States and Union Territories are exhibiting their products and skills in the fair. Home decor & lifestyle, clothing, stationery and eco-friendly products, edibles and organic products, toys and gifts, personal items – jewellery etc. are the main attractions of the fair. In the Divya Kala Mela 2023, products from different parts of the country, including Jammu-Kashmir and the North-Eastern States, are being exhibited, along with handicrafts, handlooms, embroidery works and food items.

The Divya Kala Mela is being held till February 25, 2023 at MMRDA Grounds in BKC and will be open from 11.00 am to 9.00 pm on all the ten days. The fair will feature a series of cultural activities including performances by differently-abled artists and renowned professionals. Visitors can also enjoy their favourite foods from different regions of the country in this Mela.

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, operates various schemes for the empowerment of persons with disabilities in the country. NHFDC provides financial assistance in the form of loans for the economic empowerment of Divyangjan. To provide marketing support to Divyangjan, they are provided free stalls in fairs and exhibitions organized across the country. These fairs have an important contribution in branding, product development and providing market benefits to the products of Divyangjan. A large number of people attend these famous fairs, due to which it becomes easy to take the skills of the Divyangjan to the public. For the last few years, the Divyangjan Empowerment Department is organizing exclusive fairs for Divyangjan through NHFDC at its level. These fairs have been named as Divya Kala Mela.

In December 2022, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities organized the Divya Kala Mela at the historic Kartavya Path in New Delhi, in which lakhs of visitors appreciated the art, crafts and products of Divyangjan. The Department has plans to promote the concept of such a unique fair dedicated to Divyangjan brothers and sisters, and as such Divya Kala Mela would be organized every year and will not be limited to big cities like Delhi and Mumbai, but be held across the country in future. After Mumbai, another Divya Kala Mela will held be held at Bhopal in the month of March, 2023. Going forward, it will be organized in 10 different places across the country.

 

SC/PM

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