Malappuram is gearing up to welcome the return of an international crafts fair it hosted every year till 2011. The crafts fair titled Malappuram Crafts Mela will be a fortnight-long event showcasing the craftsmanship of artisans from across the country and the cultural ethos of other countries too.
Modelled on the Surajkund Crafts Mela of Haryana, the Malappuram fair used to attract thousands of people from across the State. It used to be an international cultural festival with one foreign country joining the event as official partner.
Turkey was the official partner when the table-top tourist destination of Kottakkunnu hosted the fair the last time in 2011.
A meeting of district administration, tourism, police and civic officials convened by District Collector Amit Meena here on Thursday decided to resume the mela, which was stopped five years ago because of lack of funds.
Although P.K. Kunhalikutty, who was Minister for Industries in 2011, had promised that the government would give a facelift to the event and would put a permanent mechanism in place for it, nothing happened after that.
At Kottakkunnu park
The meeting on Thursday decided to hold the mela from December 15 to 30. The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) has promised space for the mela at Kottakkunnu Amusement Park. The park has been closed for the past several years.
Police officials who attended the meeting raised concerns about the traffic congestion likely to be caused by the mela. In 2010, when Egypt was the official partner of the mela, over a million people had reached Kottakkunnu. According to official figures, 12 lakh people saw the last mela of 2011.
As part of shopping fete
Begun in 2007 as part of the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival, the mela assumed prominence within a couple of years.
In 2009, Syrian artistes mesmerised the crowds with their skills. Food courts and food festivals used to be an attraction of the mela. Another meeting will be convened soon by involving all stakeholders.