Bengal’s 5-day shopping fest at Milan Mela from Sept 20
Times of India | 25 August 2024
Kolkata: Bengal govt will host a five-day mega shopping festival from Sept 20 to Sept 24 at Milan Mela ground. The aim, officials said, was to showcase Bengal’s products for exports and to turn Kolkata into a major shopping hub.
CM Mamata Banerjee had decided to host the festival to boost Bengal’s economy and efforts were on to make the first shopping festival a grand success, an official said.
The shopping festival will also continue simultaneously for 16 days at different malls and markets of Kolkata till Oct 5 to attract Puja shoppers. The govt feels this will boost the state’s retail and commercial sectors. Bengal govt has held meetings with all major malls and markets and they have agreed to participate.
West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), the nodal agency behind the festival, said the aim was to transform Bengal into a vibrant hub of shopping, entertainment and festivities ahead of Durga Puja. The festival will showcase handicrafts, GI products as well as traditional sweets and well-known dishes of Bengal.
Gagan Sachdev, joint convener of Confederation of West Bengal Trade Association, said there would be 250 stalls at Milan Mela, including govt stalls. A WBIDC official said there will be a special wedding pavilion along with another, where 45 stalls would be for saris. “Jewellery shops would also showcase their products,” he said.
An industry official said they were trying to design the first shopping festival in Bengal on the lines of Dubai festival.