Hyderabad: The long wait for the 82nd All India Industrial Exhibition (AIIE) is finally over. The highly billed event would be held for 45 days from January 1.
The organisers said people who throng the event must adhere to Covid19 protocols. “The event will be inaugurated by Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan at 5pm on Saturday, at which home minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali would be the guest of honour.
AIIE general secretary Aditya Margam held a meeting with the governor on Wednesday and fixed the inaugural date, depending on her convenience.
"For the last two years, it was a washout due to the Covid crisis. This year, the government has given us permission on condition that we adhere strictly to Covid19 protocols. Our security guards with help from the police will ensure no person enters the venue without a mask. We will also ensure social distance and other regulations. Sanitazires will be placed at the entrance.”
"This year, we got a good response from traders across India and even from Nepal for participation. Traders from Assam would be among those present. The health and tourism departments have always supported us in holding the expos," Margam said.
Margam said that during the last two years, despite the Covid19 outbreak, “we have never delayed payment of salaries to our 1,200 employees in 19 colleges and we extended a subsidy to 35,000 students.”
He said the exhibition society is getting a very good response this year from all sides. “We will be accommodating more than 1400 stalls this time.”
"Local businessmen are eagerly waiting for innovative products’ display for trading purposes and would aim to grab a dealership or a good business this year. As usual I will visit exhibitions and survey the newly launched industrial products. Being a businessman, this will be a good opportunity for me," Jairaj, a businessman, said.
This is time for joy for children too. "Our children enjoy the ride on the biggest giant wheel, a specialty at the event year after year. We get different varieties of dresses, bedsheets, especially the Lucknowi traditional chicken dresses that are not found in Hyderabad. After shopping, we used to order mirchi with pudina ki chutney", Sara Fatima, a resident of Chanchalguda said.
