Amaravati shopping festival fizzles to a close

Vijayawada: The Amravati Shopping Festival has concluded. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu participated in the concluding ceremony of the ASF held at Ibrahimpatnam alongside Diwali celebrations. The three-week shopping fest was intended to boost the image of the capital with a series of programs but did not give the expected results.

Though it was said that the ASF was being held on the lines of international shopping festivals like Dubai Shopping Festival, traders did not come forward to set up their shops. Only eateries and some apparel and handicraft stalls were present. As the range of products on display was very limited, people did not show much interest in going to the shopping festival. It was a mixed response from traders too.

Abdul Bari, trader in woollen clothes and apparel from Jaipur, said he did good business during the fest. Another stall owner from Delhi, Raza Hussain also expressed the same opinion and said Vijayawada was always a profitable business centre.

However, some others had bitter experiences. Md. Yousuf from Vijayawada said Rs 40,000 rent for a stall was too high and it ate away his profits. Seconding his opinion, B. Jagadeesh, a toy shop owner, said he has not recovered even expenses.

The only thing drawing the attention of the public was the cultural events organised in the evenings. The tourism department spent lavishly on the cultural events.

Joint director, tourism, R. Mallikarjuna Rao said it was to make Amaravati Shopping Festival an international event. “We have set the tone for ASF and it is only a beginning,” he said, adding that the idea was to attract the whole nation to the festival from next year.

The tourism department spent Rs 3 crore for the arrangements and cultural events. Some high profile singers and artistes were engaged for the cultural events. Baba Sehgal, teams from the popular TV comedy show Jabardasth and singers from Tollywood were engaged.