In the absence of a State policy, many stalls were still not ready in the space allocated for the government departments, boards and corporations and the zilla panchayats at the Dasara Exhibition here.

A week after the Dasara finale, the construction of stalls is still under way.

Of 47 applications received by the Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) from the departments, ZPs and others, 21 stalls were ready during the festivities, 19 were incomplete and work on seven was yet to take off.

The exhibition lasts for 90 days as it usually wraps up by December or early January.

The communication with the heads of the departments and others on the establishment of stalls at the exhibition began this July. Even after several reminders and letter correspondences from the Chief Secretary and the KEA officials, many still haven’t constructed their stalls.

On an average, around 12 lakh people visit the exhibition in 90 days. Last Saturday and Sunday, more than 1 lakh people reportedly visited the exhibition each day.

“The delay in tender process and dearth of funds were cited as the reason for the delay in establishing stalls. In the absence of a clear-cut policy, stalls continue to be delayed every Dasara,” sources in the KEA told The Hindu.

On an average, ₹20 lakh to ₹25 lakh is spent on constructing each stall on a portion of land allotted to each department by the KEA. The budget of some stalls has even crossed over ₹50 lakh (depending on the scale of the stall).

“When so much of money was spent on the stalls, what’s the point if their construction is delayed?” ask some visitors. They said that the departments have to set aside a budget every year for the exhibition and accordingly start planning at least two months before the festivities start.

More than 250 commercial stalls have been occupied by various businesses and eateries at the expo.

This year, the contract of the exhibition – entry ticket and parking fees, commercial stalls, amusement and food zone – was awarded for ₹6.99 crore.

There has been no change in the price of entry tickets for adults and children for last five years.