Buoyed by the success of the maiden exhibition of clay products at Mati Kala Festival last Diwali, the UP Mati Kala Board will once again hold a 3-day exhibition in the state capital to promote pottery and clayware ahead of Diwali..

“Promoting ‘Vocal for Local’ this Diwali, the exhibition will display products such as idols of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi, decorative lamps and diyas, earthen lamps and other clay & handmade products. The Mati Kala Festival turned out to be a hit last Diwali as the idols of Ganesh & Lakshmi, earthen diyas and other products were sold for about Rs 50 lakh, givinng a major encouragement to small traders, and pushing the rural and local economy,” Additional Chief Secretary Navneet Sehgal said.

He said along with display and sale of Mati Kala products, a 3-day seminar and workshop to attain finesse in terracotta pottery under Matikala/Pottery Development Scheme will also be organised in which eminent experts of top institutions will give information about the technical aspects of their discipline.

Apart from this, to realise the vision of ‘Self-reliant India’, with the help of local administration in every district of the state, a three-day Mati Kala temporary sale centre will be set up for all the artisans, thereby providing a market to their products, Sehgal said.

“The efforts of the board are directed towards making the market competitive for artisans which will not only improve the quality of products but also fetch them better prices. The Mati Kala Board was established by the government in July 2018 with a view to protecting and promoting local skills. Schemes like ODOP, Vishwakarma Shram Samman have the same objective. The purpose of this exhibition is to provide a platform to the local products,” Sehgal said.