As the curtains come down on the 2012 Auto Expo in January, people planning to visit the mega event are expected to adapt to a few changes that ought to become an integral part of the show. As a matter of fact, the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) has decided to step-up the system at the Delhi Auto Expo, following which the potential visitors have to book their entry tickets well in time.
ITPO, the operator of the venue ‘Pragati Maidan', has confirmed that it would impose limits over the entry of the general public that would allow 30,000 per day. The move seems to contradict the fact that, this time round, the magnitude of people arriving at Pragati Maidan has been envisaged to swell in view of 50 new launches and model unwrappings.
“We're doing lots of changes in logistics, trying to minimise hitches. We're capping the visitors, so there are bound to be fewer people,” said Rajive Kaul, Past President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Chairman, Steering Committee, Auto Expo. CII, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Automobile Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) are responsible for organising Asia's largest and complete automotive show.
The bird's eye view suggests that visitors in the tune of 1 lac would be permitted to make an entry at the expo and the rule would blanket all five days starting from 7th January to 11th January 2011. Around 30,000 slots are meant to entertain the exhibitors, 40,000 for those invited through passes and the remaining for general visitors. It must be noted that selected gates at the venue would house ticket counters, besides online bookings.
As an obvious consequence, the recent move by organisers would deprive the Auto Expo from the title of “the second largest auto show” after Shanghai. As a matter of fact, during the last edition of the Delhi Auto Expo, 1.2 million people thronged the expo premises and the per day magnitude stood at 1.7 lac people. Going against the expectations this time, the figures are ought to reduce drastically.
“We don't want stampedes in the area, it is better to have people who are interested,” said S. Sandilya, President of SIAM.
SIAM, however, is not on the same page with ITPO, when it comes to the latest decision. “It will be tough to really control the stream of visitors at a venue like Pragati Maidan. Also, with so much being invested in the expo, we would want more people to come and see the vehicles,” an official said.
Thus, seeing the criticism that stalked the fair organisers, owing to mismanagement and lack of sufficient space at the expo previously, the operators are expected to bring about such modifications in the show pattern.
