Numaish Draws Young Visitors This Year

Hyderabad: A surge in young visitors has marked the 85th edition of the All India Industrial Exhibition, with organisers reporting a shift in attendance patterns as the exhibition nears its conclusion on Sunday.

According to organisers, 19.94 lakh visitors have attended the industrial exhibition, popularly known as Numaish, so far. On February 11 alone, footfall stood at 59,000. The largest segment of visitors this year has been in the 14-29 age group, departing from the usual trend of higher attendance among those above 40 and children.

“There has been a shift in visitor profile this year,” said B.N. Rajeshwar, the secretary of Numaish.

He said the exhibition typically records an average daily footfall of 35,000 to 50,000, with about 50,000 visitors on weekdays and 75,000 on holidays and extended weekends. Organisers expect total attendance to cross 23 lakh by February 15, surpassing last year’s 21.5 lakh visitors.

With the exhibition drawing to a close, visitor numbers have increased, leading to traffic congestion between Nampally crossroads and Mozamjahi Market crossroads. Many visitors have opted for Metro Rail connectivity, alighting at the Ajantha Gate of the exhibition grounds.

For residents of Hyderabad, the Numaish continues to carry nostalgic significance. Before the advent of private FM channels, the exhibition operated its own in-house radio station, which broadcast old Hindi film songs by Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar, interspersed with announcements for missing visitors.

Zahida Begum, a senior citizen from Attapur, said, “The radio with the popular songs. People used to walk around shopping listing the songs. That is the most entertaining time, along with family, relatives and friends.”

The exhibition, which concludes on February 15, retains the tradition of playing ‘Chalte Chalte Yunhi Koi’ from the 1972 film ‘Pakeezah’ at closing time, as shop lights are gradually dimmed for the day.

Committee member Aditya Margam expressed confidence that the iconic image of Numaish will continue to draw a large number of visitors in the city and around. People in the city make it a point to visit this place at least once.

However, some regular visitors have criticised this year’s edition, stating that organisers focused largely on increasing the number of food and clothing stalls. They said there were fewer innovative stalls compared to previous years, and noted the absence of the T-Hub stall, which had attracted a large number of youth and students in earlier editions.