‘Divi Neguma’ to open 350 Avurudu fairs island-wide

The Economic Development Ministry has made arrangements to have Avurudu fairs under the ‘Divi Neguma’ national program in the 350 main towns of Divisional Secretariats for the Sinhala-Hindu New Year season.

The fairs will be open to the public from Friday 5 April to Friday 12 April (9 a.m. to 8 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 Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority, Agrarian Development Department, Mahaweli Development Authority, Lak Sathosa and the Cooperative Department, etc., under Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s guidance in accordance with the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ vision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In addition, all State institutions linked to local government, agriculture, small industries and other industries have made direct contributions to this program at district and pradeshiya levels.

The ‘Divi Neguma’ Avurudu fairs will give manufacturers of agricultural products, handicrafts and other household items the opportunity to sell their products direct to the customer instead of involving 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 and over three million families are expected to make purchases at the fairs. It will also give an opportunity to sell excess products manufactured islandwide 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 pradeshiya level. Parallel to the Avurudu fairs arrangements have also been made to organise cultural shows at several pradeshiya divisions to generate public interest in the ‘Divi Neguma’ national program.