HYDERABAD: An emotional bond that every Hyderabadi feels with the dawn of every New Year will be missing from the first day of 2021. In an unprecedented move, for the first time in 79 years, the 46-day fun and frolic and family get-togethers that add a romantic charm to Numaish will be missing this time around.
Originally called the Annual Industrial Exhibition, but popular by the local dialect Numaish, it is a major revenue earner for the Exhibition Society which organises it from January 1 to mid-Febraury every. It also provides direct and indirect livelihood to nearly 20,000 people from across the country.
However, the society has decided to suspend the ensuing event due to Covid-19 pandemic as social distancing would be a near-improbable aspect during the exhibition, which normally has close to 2,000 stalls and people from all over India bring their wares to cash in on the seasonal earnings.
Sources in the Society told Deccan Chronicle said, “This year the Annual Industrial Exhibition is suspended. By the time applications are scrutinised and stall allotments are done it will be a long process. This year no work has started on the stall front.”
Exhibition Society vice-president N. Vinay Kumar said, “Each year by this time most of the allotment of stalls would have been accomplished. But as the threat of Coronavirus is still prevalent, it will be difficult to open Numaish.”
For Hyderabadis, exhibition means a nostalgic trip down the lane and catching up with friends and families rather than just buying the latest products, or enjoying the latest dishes in the eateries.
A unique aspect is that Numaish helps support women’s education from the money generated through this event. Approximately, 20 educational institutions are run by the Exhibition Society.
Osmania Graduates Association president Dr Gangadhar Rao said, “It was in 1938 that the Association started Numaish. The money generated from this was spent on women’s education. In 1960-61, Kamala Nehru Polytechnic College for Women came into being and in the subsequent years, institutes were set up for offering engineering, pharma, post-graduation, BEd and now number 20 overall.”
Exhibition Society managing committee member Aditya Margam said, “Numaish provides employment to many right from those putting up stalls to dismantling them. This will involve 10,000 people. Employment in shops, food stalls, merry-go-rounds, recreation zones, salesmen outside the gates and parking lots will results in employment for 10,000 ore. The 46-day exhibition also generates revenue to the government by way of GST.”
Exhibition Society vice-president N. Vinay Kumar concluded, “No applications have been invited for participants to set up stalls.”
