Hyderabad's Numaish to resume on Feb 25

Hyderabad, Feb 15 (IANS) Hyderabad's popular annual trade fair 'Numaish', which was abruptly shut down a day after inauguration on January 6 due to surge in Covid-19 cases, will reopen on February 25

All India Industrial Exhibition Society (AIIES), the organisers of the annual event, has received permission from Hyderabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand to resume 81st All India Industrial Exhibition.

AIIES Honorary Secretary Aditya Margam said the exhibition will be open from 4 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.

The decision to resume the exhibition has been taken in view of the significant drop in Covid-19 cases and subsequent resumption of all normal activities.

The Society, which has been organising the fair for 80 years, will put in place various measures to adhere to Covid-19 safety rules like compulsory wearing of masks, maintaining social distance and vaccination of all stall owners.

Health authorities last week declared that the third phase of the pandemic is over in the state.

As Covid curbs have been lifted in the state, the organisers had made a request to the police and other authorities to grant permission for conducting the fair for one month.

Various departments had responded positively and the organisers were waiting for a final nod from police, which they received on Monday.

The society will invite traders to again set up their stalls. The 45-day-long Numaish, which began on January 1 but was shut the very next day as authorities announced that they are suspending it till January 10. After a review of the situation, the authorities cancelled the fair in view of the orders issued by the government banning public gatherings.

On the night of January 2, authorities had ordered closure of Numaish, a day after it was inaugurated by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and state home minister Mahmood Ali.

About 10,000 people had visited the exhibition when authorities ordered AIIES to close it.

The organisers had allotted 1,600 stalls to traders and various business organizations from different parts of the country to sell their products at the fair.

The abrupt closure caused huge losses to traders who had set up their stalls.

The exhibition could not be held last year due to Covid-19 situation. This was only the third time in its history that it could not be held.

Numaish-e-Masnuaat-e-Mulki or in short Numaish made a humble beginning in 1938 as an event to promote locally produced goods.

The fair begins on January 1 every year and continues for 45 days. Traders from various parts of the country set up their stalls during the exhibition, which is visited by 45,000 people every day. Over 20 lakh visitors had visited the exhibition in 2019.