Netravali Matoli sale draws huge crowd

MARGAO: South Goa MP, Narendra Sawaikar inaugurated the annual 2-day ‘Netravali Matoli Bazaar 2016’ at Lohia Maidan, Margao on Saturday. In his speech, Sawaikar praised the members of Netravali Mahila Udyog Samuha which organized the event in collaboration with Atal Gram Development Agency (AGDA) for the fourth consecutive year.
He said Goans eagerly await the Matoli bazaar as it offers to them a variety of wild flowers and fruits meant for Matoli at affordable prices.
Among those present for the inauguration were Sanguem MLA, Subhash Phaldesai, Goa state planning board deputy chairman, Dattaprasad Kholkar, South Goa zilla panchayat chairperson, Navnath Naik, Netravali sarpanch, Shashikant Gaonkar, Ravindra Bhavan, Margao chairman, Damodar (Damu) Naik, Adarsh Krishi Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Prakriya Saunstha Maryadit chairman, Prakash Velip, Netravali Mahila Udyog Samuha president, Pratibha Velip, Margao Municipal Council (MMC) councilor, Rupesh Mahatme.
The AGDA project director, Vijay Saxena informed STOI that the ST-dominated Netravali village comprises of seven wards with a population of 2,900 persons. It is quite popular as a tourist site owing to its scenic beauty and heritage monuments.
Netravali has been adopted under the Atal Gram Development Yojana in 2012. The BJP government formed a separate department with a board of directors to oversee the scheme whose main objective is to empower the villagers. Many schemes like poultry farming have been successfully adopted there. Other achievements include inculcating farming habits among tribal farmers. In all, 24 self-help groups (SHGs) from Sanguem put on sale items used for Matoli.