Lepakshi heritage handicrafts on display

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Panaji, Nov 3 (UNI) An array of Lepakshi heritage handicrafts collection is on display in a 10-day exhibition-cum-sales event that began here today.

The items include softwood toys and dolls from Kondapalli, Nirmal and Etikoppaka villages, hand paintings in Cheriyal, Nirmal, Kalahasti and Batik styles, leather puppets and lampshades, metal castings and sheet metal artware in brass, bidriware, carvings in wood and stone media, crochet laces, kalamkari blockprints in Machilipatnam style.

A quality variety of handloom saris and textiles in exquisite colours and designs and dress material from Mangalagiri, Venkatadri and Nzarayanpet and Siddipet adorned the exhibition inaugurated by North Goa district collector Nikhil Kumar.

The state-owned Lepakshi Handicrafts Development Corporation, which is organising the show, expects to achieve more than Rs 60 crore sales turnover this year as against Rs 43 crore in the previous year, said corporation assistant manager M Suresh.

He said as many as 18,000 artisans had been engaged in the crafts and had been contributing to 16 Lepakshi emporia spread across Andhra Pradesh alone.

The corporation is hopeful of netting Rs 15 lakh sales turnover in the current exhibition as against Rs.10 lakh in the previous year in Goa.