Hyderabad:

The biggest beneficiary of the recently concluded Conference of Parties (CoP-11) could have been Shilparamam, the traditional crafts village located at a stone’s throw away from the event’s venue in  Hitex. According to officials, the place saw an increase in footfall during the event which ended on October 19. Records reveal that around 3,000 foreign delegates had visited the crafts park in the last two weeks.

In view of the biodiversity meet, which lasted 19 days, more than 400 additional stalls were set up in the bazaar and stall-owners reported almost a 20% jump in business. “Some of the stall-owners have made profits ranging anywhere between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakhs, thanks to the various delegates of the biodiversity meet,” said a Shilparamam official.

The night bazaar at Shilparamam, which had received a lukewarm response ever since it was inaugurated in February this year, also came alive with several delegates thronging the stalls after the daily wrap up. The bazaar was kept open till 1am during CoP-11. Various programmes organised on the eve of the biodiversity meet also helped draw local visitors to the village, officials said. To the officials’ surprise, around 14,000 visitors made it to the bazaar over the last weekend.

GS Rao, Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Shilparamam, said, “In connection with CoP-11, we had organised close to 44 cultural programmes at the bazaar. That apart, we had also planted 24,700 plants. We had in fact, set up close to 50 stalls highlighting the importance of the biodiversity of the region.”

Officials said that, thanks to the meet, the infrastructure at the bazaar had been improved. “We have also added a cultural centre at the bazaar,” Rao said. Authorities have decided to continue the cultural programmes and plan to run the additional stalls till December.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / October 22nd, 2012