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Massive rush on last Sunday at Trade Fair

Staff Reporter

Heavy deployment of police ensured that traffic near Pragati Maidan remained smooth during the day

BIG DRAW: Folk artistes performing at the Andhra Pradesh pavilion and (right) a scene outside the Rajasthan pavilion on the penultimate day of the India International Trade Fair on Sunday. Photos: Rajeev Bhatt

NEW DELHI: The last Sunday of the ongoing 26th Indian International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan witnessed a huge rush with around three-lakh visitors thronging the various pavilions at the sprawling complex. A heavy rush is expected again on Monday when the 14-day annual fair concludes.

Though the organisers and the police had made elaborate arrangements anticipating more people over the weekend, the Sunday rush was less compared with the previous years. "In 2005, the last Sunday of the two-week event had seen almost five-lakh people visiting Pragati Maidan and we were forced to stop entry of people on at least two occasions during the day. We were expecting a huge crowd to visit Pragati Maidan on Sunday, but lesser number of people arrived," said a senior police officer.

People started arriving at 10 a.m. and by afternoon there was heavy rush inside the fair complex. Though organisers were able to ensure smooth entry of visitors to Pragati Maidan, at some State pavilions including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, entry of visitors had to restricted during the day due to heavy rush. Heavy presence of police and private security personnel ensured that everything went off smooth.

Many visitors were pleasantly surprised to see attractive schemes and discounts at various pavilions and counters. Pavilions showcasing white goods, decorative items and health products also saw a heavy rush.

One of the main attractions of the fair has been the Jammu and Kashmir pavilion where traditional artists are giving live demonstration of needlework on "pashmina" and cotton. Also on display are Thanka and Basholi paintings and exquisite statues of Buddha, while walnut chairs, baskets made from willow wicker tree, papier mache and copper flower vases are also in huge demand. Similarly, people are making a beeline for the School of Designs stall where artist G.M. Pampori has been making a replica of legendary artist Vincent Van Gogh's work on a cotton cloth.

The most sought after food item here is the good old "kahwa" -- Kashmiri tea prepared in traditional teapot called "samawar" along with almonds and saffron. A team of chefs has also come all the way from the State to serve visitors authentic `wazwan', a mutton dish prepared with special spices. Then there are other mouth-watering dishes like "goshtaba", "rista" and "rogan josh" on the menu card.

Another popular pavilion among visitors is that of Rajasthan that has seen a record number of people thronging it. Rajasthan pavilion director Ravi Agarwal claimed that they have sold a record number of items and artefacts this year, besides attracting a large number of business visitors from India and abroad.

Traffic in and around Pragati Maidan remained smooth during the day as the traffic police had deployed its personnel in strength to manage movement of vehicles. It had also stationed its recovery vans at strategic locations to remove vehicles obstructing movement of traffic.

The trade fair has also proved to be a big bonanza for the Delhi Metro that has already seen more than 11.5 lakh passengers making use of its Pragati Maidan station on the newly opened Connaught Place-Indraprastha section since the fair began on November 14. In view of heavy rush the Metro's operation time has been extended till 11 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.

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