NEW DELHI: From chaats and pickles to kebabs, different juices and sweets, one of the biggest crowd-pullers at India International Trade Fair (IITF) this year is the food stalls, which have been set up both inside the exhibition halls as well as the food court in an open area.
Apart from a host of products from states across the country and even items displayed by the international participants, food stalls offering cuisines exclusive to the respective states and even the food court saw thousands thronging the kiosks.
Inside the exhibition halls, one of the major crowd-pullers was at the Rajasthan arena. Onion kachoris, tikkis, chaats and various thaalis attracted several of the visitors who were present at IITF.
For those with a sweet-tooth, a “mishti shop” set up near the West Bengal arena saw people queuing up in large numbers as well. Apart from the traditional sweets, samosas were also flying off the shelves.
Groundnut chikki, gur chikki (peanut chikki) were also some of the major draws near the Maharashtra arena.
Apart from performances taking place at a packed amphitheatre, folk performances near arenas set up by Jharkhand and Haryana also attracted eyeballs and drew loud cheers from bystanders.
Even though regular announcements were being made to ensure implementation of Covid protocols, streams of visitors entering the respective arenas resulted in several of the kiosks getting overcrowded with hardly any space for social distancing left. At the food stalls also, groups of people ended up huddling together, sans masks.
Sanjay Vashishtha, spokesperson of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), said that the footfall on Saturday had breached the limit that authorities were trying to maintain.
“Even though we are trying to keep the footfall within 25,000, on Saturday, the number of people who visited the fair went beyond that. We are trying our best to ensure that protocol is maintained. Announcements are also being made in that regard and those without masks are being advised to wear them. Extensive measures are being taken,” Vashishtha said.
