Hyderabad, Feb 27 : Hunar Haat has provided employment opportunities to about 8 lakh artisans and craftsmen in different parts of the country during the last seven years, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here on Sunday. He along with minister for culture, tourism and development of north eastern region, G. Kishan Reddy inaugurated the 37th Hunar Haat here. More than 700 artisans and craftsmen from more than 30 states and union territories are participating in the Hunar Haat being organised at NTR Stadium, Indira Park. The fair will continue till March 6. Naqvi claimed that Hunrat Haat has proved to be a reliable brand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of self-reliant India, swadeshi to self-dependence and vocal for local. He said Hunar Haat has become a valuable partner in preservation and promotion of the heritage of artisans and craftsmen. He claimed that for the first time since independence the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working in a mission mode to promote swadeshi heritage. As a result, traditional arts and crafts were revived, lakhs of families dependent on them got an opportunity to display and sell their products and thus they were linked to the market. As part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Hunar Haats will also be organised in New Delhi, Mysuru, Guwahati, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Patna, Mumbai, Jammu, Chennai, Chandigarh, Agra, Prayagraj, Goa, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Kota, Sikkim, Srinagar, Leh, Shillong, Ranchi, Agartala and other places in the coming days. Kishan Reddy said Hunar Haat reflects unity in diversity as artisans and craftsmen from various parts of the country come together to showcase their products. Stating that small artisans were worst hit by Covid-19 pandemic during the last two years, he said Hunar Haat will be a great help to them. He said he was glad to learn that Hunar Haat will be organised in 75 major cities across the country as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Claiming that Covid vaccination drive is continuing at a rapid pace across the country, he said this has improved economic activity and people are able to carry on with their business and routine activity. Artisans and craftsmen from Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Ladakh, Jammu-Kashmir, Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Manipur, Goa, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Chandigarh and Haryana are participating in the Hunar Haat in Hyderabad. These artisans and craftsmen have brought with them rare handmade indigenous products made of clay, wood, iron, brass, marble, glass etc. Traditional dishes from different regions of the country, circus and different cultural and musical programmes of renowned artists of the country are major attractions of Hunar Haat. It is also showcasing the history and the role played by great freedom fighters of the country. Renowned artists of the country such as Pankaj Udhas, Altaf Raja, Sudesh Bhosle, Suresh Wadekar, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Jr. Mahmood, Mohit Khanna, Bhupinder Singh Bhuppi, Rekha Raj, Upsana Singh, Nooran Sisters, Priya Mallick, Gunjan Saxena, Rani Indrani, Ankita Pathak, Ritesh Mishra will perform in the Hunar Haat. Telangana's home minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali, MP Suresh Reddy, MLA Raghunandan Rao and others attended the inaugural ceremony. /IANS