The fair season is well and truly upon us. While Bidhannagar Mela has started earlier in the week in Salt Lake, Saras Mela will be inaugurated today in New Town.

The New Town fair ground will host around 300 stalls, around 100 participants sitting in the open or in pavilions.

Confirmations have come from 20 states like Kashmir, Rajasthan, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh which will set up stalls with their traditional products. “We expect confirmations from a few more states at the last moment. Last year, 22 states had come,” said an official of the panchayat and rural development department.

Brands from several state government departments will take part, like Resham Shilpi and Banglar Taant from the department of micro, small and medium enterprises and textiles, Haringhata and Mother Dairy from the animal resources development department and Benfish from the fisheries department. The forest and food processing departments will also come with their products. Both Hidco and NKDA will have stalls. Supporting organisations like the environment conservation society SwitchON Foundation and Prodaan have also registered. There will be a pavillion dedicated to Srishtishree, the retail brand of the panchayat department, with women belonging to self-help groups from rural areas of the state coming with their products.

“We had organised an incubation programme recently in collaboration with IIM-Calcutta Innovation Park. Some of our best artisans were mentored by IIM-C for business growth, providing guidance to them about how to reach new markets. A pavillion will showcase that initiative and also host buyer-seller meets,” the official said.

Sellers from Misti Hub in Eco Park will set up a similar dessert corner in the main fairground itself. Sweets from the districts will also come, including jaggery, a speciality of the winter, other than kansat from Bankura and rosokodombo from Malda.

There will also be a food court in the adjoining ground, where Café Ekante, which runs the eateries in Eco Park and the Biswa Bangla Gate, will be present. The canteen brand of the panchayat department, Khadyochhaya, will sell lunch thalis and evening snacks. The Comprehensive Area Development Authority, which has a year-round stall selling vegetables and fish at Mrittika Bhavan in DD Block, Salt Lake, will attend. Momos, a top-selling item in recent years, will come from Darjeeling. Stalls from Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh will sell ethnic food. Telengana will come with Hyderabadi biryani. “They had come last year too,” the official said.

Saras Mela will be open till January 2 and timings are 12noon to 9pm.