{"id":56610,"date":"2026-02-14T21:56:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T21:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/?p=56610"},"modified":"2026-02-14T21:56:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T21:56:06","slug":"20th-grand-toshali-swadeshi-mela-kicks-off-in-bhubaneswar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/2026\/02\/14\/20th-grand-toshali-swadeshi-mela-kicks-off-in-bhubaneswar\/","title":{"rendered":"20th Grand Toshali Swadeshi Mela kicks off in Bhubaneswar"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bhubaneswar, February 14, 2026( Odisha Samachar \/ Rajat Mohapatra )- The 20th Grand Toshali Swadeshi Mela commenced today at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar, celebrating the rich legacy of Odisha\u2019s handloom and handicraft sectors.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-56611 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-1-300x173.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"173\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-1-300x173.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-1.jpeg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo inaugurated the fair and emphasized that Odisha\u2019s handloom and handicraft products possess a unique appeal, reflecting the state\u2019s glorious heritage and cultural identity. He stated that the primary objective of the fair is to enhance the economic prosperity of weavers and artisans.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Minister for Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts expressed pride in Odisha\u2019s weavers and artisans. He noted that while weavers have become torchbearers of the state\u2019s weaving legacy, handicraft artisans have emerged as ambassadors of excellence in art. The government, he added, remains committed to strengthening their livelihoods.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-56612 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-2-300x218.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-2-300x218.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-2.jpeg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>On the occasion, 12 artisans were felicitated for their contributions. Two MoUs were signed between the Directorate of Handicrafts and the CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar, and the Indian Institute of Packaging, Mumbai. Additionally, two MoUs were signed between the Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles and the ICAR-National Institute of Natural Fibre Engineering and Technology, along with Odisha University of Technology and Research, Bhubaneswar.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-56613 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-3-300x166.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"166\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-3-300x166.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-3.jpeg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Department, Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar, delivered the welcome address, while Director of Handicrafts Dr. Nibedita Prusti proposed the vote of thanks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-56614 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-4-300x173.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"173\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-4-300x173.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-4.jpeg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Among those present were Ekamra MLA Babu Singh, regional coordinator of Swabalambi Abhiyan Sarada Satpathy, renowned Bandha artist and Padma Shri awardee Sharat Kumar Patra, Additional Secretary Pratap Chandra Hota, and Director of Handlooms and Textiles Surya Narayan Pattanayak.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-56615 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-5-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-5-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-5.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fair, which began today, will continue until February 26. This year, a total of 905 stalls have been set up, with weavers and artisans from 20 states participating in the event.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-56616 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-6-300x112.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-6-300x112.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/T-6.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bhubaneswar, February 14, 2026( Odisha Samachar \/ Rajat Mohapatra )- The 20th Grand Toshali Swadeshi Mela commenced today at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar, celebrating the rich legacy of Odisha\u2019s handloom and handicraft sectors. Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo inaugurated the fair and emphasized that Odisha\u2019s handloom and handicraft products possess a unique appeal, &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[42,40],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56610"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56617,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56610\/revisions\/56617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}