Poor Connectivity Cuts Off Numaish Visitors

 Hyderabad: People struggled to complete their purchases at the Numaish at Nampally as digital payments failed because of slow Internet connectivity and lack of cash with them. The problem began to manifest from the entry gates to shopping and food stalls inside the exhibition grounds.

While a large number of individuals thronged the exhibition on Saturday, many of them were forced to pause at ticket counters in search of cash as online payment systems slowed down. Inside the exhibition, similar issues were reported at several stalls, leaving shoppers and food lovers waiting to complete payments.

“The weekend turned troublesome for those who came without cash. From buying entry tickets to making payments at stalls, the internet was extremely slow,” said a visitor.

P. Bhargavi, speaking to Deccan Chronicle, said she had to wait nearly 15 minutes at a bangle stall to make a payment. “It was a big stall with multiple salespersons, each having QR codes. But the payment kept failing with messages saying the bank server was not connecting. I had to pay Rs 1,000 and did not have much cash,” she said.

The situation was more worrying at food stalls, visitors said. “At shopping stalls, you can walk away and try elsewhere. But with food, once you have eaten, you are forced to wait to pay the bill,” a visitor remarked.

K. Arun pointed out similar problems at the amusement park. “Queues grow in seconds, but when QR codes fail, we are made to wait as tickets for rides are not issued until payment is confirmed,” he said.

Responding to the complaints, B.N. Rajeshwar, secretary of the Exhibition Society, said efforts were being made to address the issue. “By next year, nearly one-third of entry tickets will be available through POS machines or online platforms. However, a substantial number of visitors are from the older generation, so traditional queues will continue,” he said.

He said the society had partnered with BSNL as the official connectivity provider and offered fibre connections to stalls accepting digital payments, with plans ranging from 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps. “The problem arises when multiple neighbouring stalls use a single vendor’s WiFi password. In one instance, we found nine users sharing one connection,” he said.

According to him, when 200 to 300 people scan QR codes simultaneously at ticket counters, connectivity slows down. “To ensure visitors are not inconvenienced, we upgraded the internet bandwidth to 1 GB on Saturday, despite the cost. This cleared the rush at ticket counters within 20 minutes. Earlier, the speed was only 300 Mbps,” he added.

The Exhibition Society is also planning to set up ticketing kiosks with QR codes and two assistants at the Gandhi Bhavan Metro Station, located a short walk from the exhibition grounds. “Metro stations offer free WiFi. We are seeking permission to use it at our kiosk so visitors can purchase tickets before reaching the exhibition,” Rajeshwar said.