The India International Trade Fair begins at Pragati Maidan from Tuesday but this year it will on a small scale. Sangeeta Yadav takes a round of a run-down Pragati Maidan for a reality check
The India International Trade Fair (IITF) is just two days away and it will bring 32 States and 21 foreign countries under one roof to showcase the best of art, craft, culture and cuisine.
That it is happening at the pulled down, construction cordoned Pragati Maidan is good news. The bad news, however, is that this time round, the area will be much smaller, the entry will be limited and the pavilions lesser. With the iconic Pragati Maidan pavilions set up for the 1982 Asiad have since been razed, virtually ending an era that shone on Delhi’s infrastructural skyline.
All individual pavilions, which used to be a major attraction for visitors to see how beautifully it represented a particular State, have been shifted to huge empty hangars providing no space for adornments.
Moreover, the area for the exhibition has been reduced to half — from 1 lakh sq mt to 55,000 sq mt — due to the redevelopment of Pragati Maidan which is to be rechristened as the International Exhibition Cum Executive Convention Centre.
“All the State pavilions which used to have around 3000-4000 sq meter area have been demolished for redevelopment. More than half the area is gone and the new convention centre will be ready by August 2019. Till then, we will have the trade fair on a small scale. But we are not bringing down the quality of the exhibition. Every hangar has got 500 sq km area which is still huge. Except for the display area which has come down to half, the size allotted to each State for the exhibition is going to be the same. The display area of foreign participation has been increased to 2500 sq km,” J Guna Sekaran, General Manager, Foreign and Domestic Fair, ITPO, says.
The footfall has also been reduced. Earlier, around 1.25 lakh people used to visit per day but this year, the number has been limited to 60,000 plus 20,000 exhibitors and service providers. For the first time, the ITPO will not be selling tickets at any of the gates of Pragati Maidan. “To end the long queues outside gates, the authorities have gone online for ticketing. Alternatively, the tickets can be purchased offline at any of the metro stations. We want them to buy tickets before coming to Pragati Maidan,” Sekaran said.
A walk-through of the place showed that all halls had been broken down. The barren land has been either dug up deep down the surface through huge cranes or has piles of debris strewn around. last year, only the Haryana Pavilion had been demolished but this year, many more have gone.
“Hall numbers 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 have been demolished keeping in mind the redevelopment plan. All these pavilions were the same in design and architecture and their condition was horrible. There were numerous cracks and it was not generating any revenue for the ITPO as all exhibitors used to go for the air-conditioned halls which are from Hall 7 to 18,” Sekaran says.
What’s new
This time round, the theme is ‘Start-up India, Stand-up India’. Hall 18 will be a new one — the Government of India pavilion. From announcing incentives and various programmes for start-up entrepreneurs, to encouraging more and more people to become start-up entrepreneurs and generate employment, this theme pavilion will be something to watch out for.
The partner country will be Vietnam, focus country Kyrgyztan and partner State Jharkhand.
As many as 3000 participants will take part in IITF with lakshadweep making a return to the show. All State pavilions will be showcased in eight hangars. “Hall No 7 will have all SME Enterprises like service mela, woman and child development, jute boards, etc. Halls 8 and 9 will have Government exhibitions. Hall Nos 10 and 11 will have electronics and kitchen appliances. Hall 12 will be for Government initiatives while 12 A will house cosmetics and 18 will be dedicated to foreign countries,” Sekaran says. Over 222 enterprises from 21 nations will take part in the fair. These include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, South Korea, Myanmar, South Africa, Sri lanka, Thailand, Turkey, The Netherlands, the UAE and the UK.
There will also be a food court with 17 outlets.