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Chandigarh, Feb 11 (IANS) Sunday was an unusually busy day at the popular Surajkund Crafts Mela near New Delhi. The fair saw a record footfall of over 142,000 people - the highest in a single day in the 27 editions of the fair. "The 27th Surajkund International Crafts Mela has created a history with the highest footfall recorded for a single day at 1.42 lakh. A new milestone was reached on Sunday crossing all previous footfall records," a spokesman of the Haryana government said here Monday. The fair, which made a modest beginning in 1981, witnessed a total footfall of nearly 175,000 in 1989. The fair saw nearly a million visitors in 2012. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the fair, held in Haryana's Faridabad district, Feb 2 this year. Besides the rich culture and craftsmanship of nearly all states in the country, the two-week event has seen participation from 20 countries this time. "The success of Surajkund Crafts Mela is credited to the availability of modern amenities of safe drinking water, clean environment, high maintenance of law and order, clean and hygienic public conveniences and efficient transport facilities with the due efforts of policing and security agencies, district administration and the mela authority," the spokesman said. The fair, held in an area of around 40 acres, will continue till Feb 15. Surajkund derives its name from the ancient amphitheatre Sun Pool constructed here in the 10th century by Raja Suraj Pal, one of the Tomar chieftains. The place is located in the foothills of Aravalli mountain range.
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