Hyderabad: Crowds at Numaish encouraging but business yet to catch up

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad’s year starter attraction Numaish is attracting people, much to its popularity, but not business. Being weekend on Sunday, the serpentine queues at the ticket counters and the crowd trying to wade through the tens of thousands of people indicated that the popularity of the All India Industrial Exhibition did not fade out even in the era of online buying.

“We look forward to this exhibition every year and make it a point to visit it at least once with our entire family,’’ said a teenager, Farah, who has been coming to exhibition since she was a child. “Even if we don’t shop, it is fun sitting here and watching the crowd,” quipped her cousin Fathima.

The crowds are encouraging for the businessmen but they say the business was less. Speaking to Express, Md Fayaz, a shopkeeper, said that business is dull. “But the offers we are extending are giving some business to us. We are giving discounts and one-plus-one offers to boost the sales and this brings down our margins,’’ he said.

Such was the crowd rush that a train chugging inside the fair’s premises had to hoot continuously to warn visitors of its arrival. Striking a village fair-like chord with the visitors were a group of artists who entertained people with their traditional dance performances and cultural events.

Food courts, strategically located, dished out mouth-watering delicacies from piping ‘hot chaat’ to ‘mirchi baji’, ‘pav bhaji’, ‘haleem’ and spicy ‘kebabs’ that saw long lines of food-lovers longing to have a go at the dishes. Meanwhile, 10 women have been assigned the duty to take care of children.