Too little food, bad acoustics and stampede for brochures

Meet may have been a success on the MoU front, but in terms of organisation, it was a mess

Arrangements made at the dining halls and cafeteria were nightmarish. Men in suits and women dressed in the best of the finery waited patiently to get a roti or two, a ladle-full of rice or some chicken pieces. Even plates were not available. The situation was no better in the seminar halls.

In the beginning, it looked as though there was sufficent food for everyone. But within minutes, the halls were overcrowded. Presence of people other than investors in large number caused the confusion and the soon the food ran out.
All this despite the government repeatedly claiming that investors will be taken care of well and all will be well. It should be said fret as the invitees did, sweat they did not, thanks to the air conditioner units.

The menu was impressive. It included both north Indian and south Indian dishes. The dishes included - Kothimai Venkkai, tomato pappu, yellow dal, rasam, kai kari mandi, red kidney beans & vegetable stew, veg pulao, naan roti paratha, rice, roast chicken, fish curry, boondi raitha, three bean salad to name a few.But many delegates got only boiled vegetables and beans.

The people at the food counters said the crowd was larger than expected. The organisers had set up a separate dining hall for top industrialists, guests and ministers. But all suffered similar plight. Tea breaks were no better, with snaking queues at all the tea and coffee counters. Most of the coffee machines did not work.

At technical sessions, the event partners distributed sector-wise brochures designed specially to attract investments. Many investors missed the brochures as other visitors vied for the copies. In Hall 3, where session on Tourism sector was on, organisers had a row with policemen and lower rank functionaries of the government who demanded copies of the brochures. Opening a new box of brochures would spark of a minor stampede. Many VIP guests lost their composure and berated the organisers for not providing them brochures.

The worst mess was the media centre. Many computers had no internet facility. Phones would not work. Accoustics for the inaugural function were so bad that delegates and the media could hardly hear what was being said.
The stock reply from government officials was: “We do not know. Somebody else is handling... please wait”.
DH News Service