Divi Naguma to initiate 407 Avurudu fairs island-wide

The Economic Development Ministry has made arrangements to have Avurudu fairs under the ‘Divi Neguma’ national program in 407 main towns of the division secretariat for the Sinhala-Hindu New Year season.

The fairs will be open to the public during 5 April to 12 April from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The objective of organising these fairs is to provide items essential for the festive season such as clothes, textiles, fresh vegetables and fruits, rice, sweetmeats, spices and other items at concessionary prices under one roof and thereby help to boost rural industries.

The Economic Development Ministry will coordinate the ‘Divi Neguma’ Avurudu fairs, along with the Samurdhi Authority, Agrarian Development Department, Mahaweli Development Authority, Lak Sathosa and the Cooperative Department, under the guidance of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s in accordance with the ‘Mahinda Chintana Vision’ of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

In addition, all state institutions linked to the local Government, agriculture, small industries and other industries have made direct contributions to this program at district and provincial levels.

The Avurudu fairs will give agricultural, handicrafts and other household manufacturers the opportunity to deal with their customers directly, instead of the involvement of middle-men, so that they would get the highest value for their products. It will help to control rice increases during the festive season so that the public would be able to buy these items at reasonable prices.

Nearly 10,000 rural industrialists are contributing to the ‘Divi Neguma’ Avurudu fairs while over three million families are expected to make purchases at the fairs. It will also give an opportunity to trade excess products manufactured island wide, under the Economic Development Ministry’s ‘Divi Neguma’ national program but not sold so far.

In this connection, special attention has been paid to items made of clay, processed foods, treacle and jaggery, shoes and slippers, plant varieties and other products subsidised by cooperatives at provincial level. Parallel to the Avurudu fairs, arrangements have also been made to organise cultural shows at several divisions to generate public interest in the ‘Divi Neguma’ national program.