HYDERABAD: There’s more to New Year than just partying. You can go shopping, for the annual Numaish is here again. With seven decades of shopping, food, games, fun and entertainment, it looks like this tradition of the Nawabi city is just getting better every year. The 46-day long, 72nd All India Industrial Exhibition, 2012 which is set to be inaugurated on Jan 1, has more to offer this time. What more, it will web cast live and you could, perhaps, check the stalls before you set out into that crowded fair. And if you are not in a position to visit the expo, you can still enjoy the show, window shopping on the Net!Two cameras have been installed at a high altitude to get an overall view of the stalls for the live telecast. Similarly, the exhibition society has put on display geographical information system (GIS) generated maps to make it easier for the visitors to go around the stalls in the 20-acre complex. As for parking, the biggest headache for customers, there’s some bad news. Nothing innovative has been done this time. The number of volunteers has been increased and the parking fee has been fixed at Rs 5 for two-wheelers and Rs 15 for four-wheelers.The exhibition will have about 2,500 stalls. Besides, the society is also collaborating with the Osmania Graduates’ Association to help students with some sound advice on education related issues. The organisers are understandably upbeat about the possible business. “The exhibition is growing every year. From about 21 lakh visitors last year, we are expecting more than 22 lakh this year,” said D Gangadhar Rao, honorary secretary, exhibition society. “Trade worth `100 crore and a profit of about Rs 13 crore was recorded last year. Rs 5.6 crore went towards taxes and other expenditure. This year, I think it will get even better,” he added. According to him, development works would be taken up once the lease deed with the government is finalised. The government has already leased out the land to the society for a period of 50 years, up to 2052.Customised arrangementsThe arrangements have been customised as per the needs of the visitors. Starting with the usually crowded and elbow-nudging ticket counters to the less congested ones. There will be one counter each at the Gandhi Bhawan gate, Ajanta gate and the Gosha Mahal gate and the counter at the Gandhi Bhawan will be inside the venue not outside. The Society has also put in place a three-tier security system, with 100 trained security personnel, including 20 women. Besides, 20 door-frame metal detectors, 35 hand-held metal detectors, 25 CCTV cameras, 120 volunteers, 60 watch and ward staff and a dog squad will be at hand to regulate the movement of the visitors.Fire services department has arranged a round the clock fire service station. The Exhibition Society this year in collaboration with the Kamineni Hospitals, King Koti is conducting free health camps at the venue. Subsidised health check-ups, advance cardiac life support system and ambulance services have also been set up. Another tradition, the Ladies Day will be held on January 10, Children’s Day will be held on January 31 and Well Baby Show will be held on February 1. Stalling-upWorkers and artisans from across the country have almost finished erecting their stalls. The manager of a stall, Madinis Imperial Art Gallery, which sells Islamic art and photo frames says, “This year we are hoping to do better business. We pay about 1.5 lakh rent. We are looking forward to this."
Comments
0 comment