The South Indian Bank Grand Kerala Shopping Festival opened with a spectacular ceremony in Kannur on Saturday.
Union Minister of State of Civil Aviation K.C. Venugopal, who inaugurated the event, said that GKSF should be seen as an opportunity to showcase the State to the world.
BEST INITIATIVE
“We must create a priority list of our indigenous products and promote them. GKSF is one of the best initiatives in the State. It is a great tool to promote tourism, an employment and revenue generator. It is also wonderful to see a festival of this scale to encourage responsible shopping,” Venugopal said.
Separately, he pledged support from the Centre for development and modernisation of the three existing airports which are gateways for inbound tourists.
“The fourth airport coming up in Kannur, along with Goa, are the only two airport projects directly being monitored by the Prime Minister. This is indicative of the significance the Centre attaches to the project. It will soon become a reality with environmental clearance expected on December 18,” he said.
EIA CLEARANCE
A.P. Anil Kumar, Minister for Tourism, said the biggest plus point of GKSF is that it is not confined to cities but reaches out to the interiors of the State.
“Our efforts have been to make this festival more participatory and I am sure that with people taking ownership, it will emerge as the biggest event of its kind anywhere. As a step in this direction we are introducing an international trade fair in Kochi this year. The Global Village in Kochi will be a new experience for Kerala,” he said.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy; Union Ministers Vayalar Ravi, K.V. Thomas and Shashi Tharoor, and deputy leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Kodiyeri Balakrishnan videoed in their wishes to GKSF.
MAJOR SPONSORS
K. P. Mohanan, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, who was present at the function, offered felicitations.
South Indian Bank is the title sponsor of GKSF; Malabar Gold is associate sponsor; Tata Motors, platinum sponsor; Josco Jewellers, principal sponsor; and Bhima Gold, BIS and Department of Consumer Affairs are co-sponsors.
Tourism Minister Anil Kumar officially launched the Aria Pure LX model from Tata Motors at the function.