Swine flu Impacts Numaish

Almost 50 per cent of stocks brought from different parts of the country was left unsold. This was the 75th year of Numaish, an annual event in Hyderabad’s cultural calendar, and organisers expected at least 23-24 lakh visitors compared to 21 lakh in the previous year.

Even after a week’s extension, which in fact was the first such instance in exhibition history, the total number of visitors stood at 18.6 lakh. The Numaish is usually held from January 1 till February 15 every year. However, nearly 450 stall owners approached the society for an extension in view of stocks piling up in stalls due to fall in number of visitors this time.

Hence the closing date was changed from February 15 to February 22 (Sunday). The figure for number of visitors in 2014 and 2013 was 21 and 20 lakh respectively. Before the extension, the crowd figure stood at just 15 lakh. P Narotham Reddy, honorary president of Exhibition Society, stated that Swine Flu proved a big dampener.

There was a drastic fall in number of people visiting exhibition especially from January 10 to February 10. Crowds started swelling in large numbers only in the last ten days after temperatures were on the rise. Traders from across India besides local businessmen set up around 2,500 stalls this year.

Those on offer included jewellery, bedsheets, carpets and pillow covers, grocery and cutlery, dry fruits, home appliances, footwear, cosmetics etc. Majority of the stalls could not do business as desired. Moreover, due to the disease scare, there were no takers for eateries, which sell a variety of lip smacking food each year. Sunny of Shri Ram Impex from Haryana stated that he suffered huge losses.

His family brought bed linen material from the north and more than 50 per cent of the stock was unsold. He said he needed to borrow money to transport them to his native State again. Syed Ashfaq Hussain, Magic toys trader from old city who had participated in the exhibition for the last 15 years stated that he did not do much business this year.