Pallishree Mela in Bali yatra is set for a record business of more than Rs 13.5 crore as the kiosks set up by various self-help groups have sold fast moving consumer goods like never before in the first seven days of the annual fair.

Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (Ormas) organises the national-level Pallishree Mela.

This year, the Pallishree Mela has come up with 380 shops devoted to ethnic and rural crafts and FMCGs at Bali yatra where around 1,300 pavilions and kiosks have come up in total.

While ethnic and rural crafts from 23 states across the country and Odisha are a major attraction more than 1,100 artisans and over 300 self-help groups are taking part in the fair.

Ormas deputy director Bipin Rout said: “Business in the Pallishree Mela since November 23 was around Rs 8.16 crore by November 29. And if trends over the week are any indication the total business in Balijatra this year will be more than last year.”

The total business shot up from Rs 1.76 crore by November 24 to Rs 7.38 crore by November 28. There was business of Rs 13.16 crore in the Pallishree Mela last year.

Rout attributed the increase in business this year to the increase in number of kiosks from 345 to 380 at the mela and rise in sale of FMCGs. Besides, there was a marked increase in footfalls this year with the Food Mela section attracting the most, he said.

Rout said a self-help group under the banner of Maa Bijay Laxmi Producers’ Group had made a debut in Bali yatra this year with bay leaves and almost ran out of stock as the consumer item was sold in the mela for the first time.

“The bay leaves seemed to have been well processed with a better aroma than those available in the market,” said homemaker Alaka Patnaik.

President of Maa Bijay Laxmi Producers’ Group Shakuntala Behera said: “We had not anticipated such huge demand. We will come up with a much bigger stock next year.” The SHG with 35 members from Handipada village in Bhograi of Balasore district had come with around two quintals of bay leaves. The stock was almost sold off by Thursday.

The food mela which is part of the Pallishree Mela has been a major crowd puller offering the taste of spicy food from Rajasthan and Punjab along with various traditional foods of different parts of Odisha including the Dhenkanal Bara, the famous Salepur Rasagola or Kendrapada Rasabali, etc.

Goods put up for sale at Pallishree Mela were delivered to customers in bio-degradable packaging materials and carry bags. All the stalls delivered the goods in paper, cotton or jute bags instead of the hazardous polythene bags.

Among the varied ethnic handicrafts and handlooms along with traditional goods at the Pallishree Mela-2018 in Bali yatra this year were chanderi saree and brass metal products from Madhya Pradesh, woolen items from Kashmir, Leather products from Rajasthan, wooden items from Andhra Pradesh, cane and bamboo items from Tripura, tangail silk and cotton from Bengal, decorative items from northeast, incense items from Mysore, kanjivaram sarees from Tamilnadu, chikan works from Lucknow, handloom and handicrafts products from Odisha, bamboo products from Meghalaya, woollen garments from Punjab and so on.