Numaish will be held amid COVID-19, but likely to be delayed

Hyderabad: Months after uncertainty that loomed over the conduct of the Annual All India Industrial Exhibition (AIIE), popularly known as Numaish, the organizers on Tuesday announced that the exhibition will commence soon.

However, this time around–for its 81st edition, it will be delayed and curtailed in terms of size and time.

Releasing a statement on Tuesday, the Exhibition Society stated that there have been persistent inquiries from all quarters about the prospects of conducting Numaish this year. “There are several stakeholders who are looking forward anxiously,” the society’s statement reads.

Speaking to siasat.com, Exhibition Society committee members Aditya Margam, said, “Numaish is the source to 20 education and charitable institutions supported by Exhibition Society and Osmania Graduates’ Association across the state are dependent upon the savings after conducting the Numaish.”

“While all stakeholders are keen to have an exhibition society as usual, we feel it is our responsibility to ensure that all visitors are protected. We shall look for an appropriate time window to conduct the Numaish at a later date,” the Exhibition Society Secretary K. Janaki Ram said.

The Exhibition Society assured that it will obtain guidelines from the public health and government bodies on how this mammoth festival can be conducted. Fort the first time in 79 years, the 46-day Numaish will be postponing its commencement date from January 01 to a later date.

“Only after we are clear on safety measures and commencement of Numaish 2021 shall not be on January 01, 2021, after we get the approval from the authorities, we can announce the date and schedule for the 81st All India Industrial Exhibition,” said the Exhibition Society.

Numaish is a major revenue earner for the Exhibition Society which organizes it from January 1 to mid-February every year. It also provides direct and indirect livelihood to around 20,000 people from across the nation.
Moreover, Numaish also provides employment to thousands of temporary workers such as carpenters, painters, electricians and laborers who depend on the exhibition for almost two months.

The commencement of Numaish is also a source of revenue for the government by way of Goods and Services Tax (GST). Nearly, 20 lakh tickets, stall rents of the 15,00 stalls and sales turnover of the small business and shopkeepers is an added revenue source for the government