The first and only ladies’ day at the annual Numaish on Friday saw poor footfalls with ticket sales being just a little over 5,000.
An office-bearer of the All India Industrial Exhibition Society (AIIES) attributed the low turnout to Numaish being in the initial stages this season. Women, several in burqas, and children were seen at the sprawling Exhibition Grounds.
Speaking to The Hindu , managing committee member Ashvin Margam said, “We have just started. We have noticed that the number of visitors on ladies’ day has been decreasing over the past few years which is why it was decided to reduce the number of ladies’ days to one.” Another reason for decreasing footfalls on ladies’ days is on account of traders expressing concern over their business being affected on account of fewer customers as compared to the other days.
“While ladies’ day is a tradition, it is seen that families want to come here together. Perhaps this is another reason why there has been drop in the footfall. Women living closer to the Exhibition Grounds seem to come on ladies’ day,” an office-bearer opined. According to Mr. Margam, the ladies’ day was first instituted in the 1940s by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam of the earstwhile Hyderabad State, as women observed purdah.
