Bhubaneswar, Nov 3: Minister, Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts, Rita Sahu today inaugurated terracotta exhibition MRUTTIKA-2023 in Bhubaneswar.
Terracotta is one of the approved crafts of the State mostly practiced by the traditional Kumbhakars and trained youths almost in every district. There are more than 10000 terracotta artisans in the state who are producing traditional, decorative and utility terracotta-based items.
There are also more than 40 clusters of terracotta in the state, out of which some of the focused terracotta craft pockets are Kuibahal & Silati (Subarnpur), Barapalli, Talapadar & Chadheigaon (Baragarh), Haldharpur (Keonjhar), Nuagaon (Khurda) and Lunukua (Jagatsinghpur). As many as five terracotta artisans have been conferred with National Level Awards and 18 terracotta artisans have been awarded with State Level Awards.
In a bid to provide a platform for marketing of the products of the clusters and individual artisans, an exclusive theme-based craft specific exhibition in terracotta has been organized by the Directorate of Handicrafts since 2006.
Provision for 162 stalls have been made and around300 artisans are participating in the exhibition from 27districts such as Keonjhar, Jajpur, Balasore, Subarnpur, Baragarh, Rayagada, Khurda, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Puri, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Bolangir, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Gajapati, Angul, Boudh, Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Nuapada. It is expected to attain a business turnover of Rs 2.25 crore during this event.
