Incomex-2016 a damp squib

HUBBALLI: Incomex-2016, the five-day industrial expo that ended on Tuesday, failed to live up to the expectations of the industry and give boost to industrial growth in the region.
It also received poor response from people with consumers and exhibitors not showing interest to participate in the exhibition. Many stalls at exhibition hall remaining empty stood testimony to this.Many companies did not participate in the exhibition despite reserving stalls. According to the organizers, demonetization has had its impact on the expo. Many industrialists are said to have backed out at the last moment following the ban on old currencies Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
The stalls reserved by Innovative Tool Solution, Atlanta Pumps PVT, Prasiddi Engineering and some other companies remained empty from the second day of the exhibition. Only stalls of electronic goods and food court were abuzz with action.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the only company representing the industrial sector, attracted people as it had exhibits pertaining to aerospace technology. The remaining stalls were from the commerce sector.
Ramesh Ballary, an industrialist from Haveri, said that Incomex, despite being pegged as an international industrial exhibition, was not up to international standards. “It looked like only companies from Karnataka took part in the expo. No company from other state, let alone from foreign countries, was present.”
He further said that the number of participants was from the food industry, and they exhibited only food items. “There were no industries displaying innovative ideas,” he asserted.
Santosh Salimath, proprietor of Salimath Terricota (Hubballi), said that he received poor response from visitors all through the exhibition. “There were no visitors from outside — it was only those from Hubballi and surrounding places. Only 40-45 people visited my stall in five days, and most of them were not serious about the expo,” he claimed.
“The absence of district minister Vinay Kulkarni, industrial minister RV Deshpande, small scale industries minister Ramesh Jarakiholi and labour minister Santosh Lad also contributed to the poor response,” said a senior member of KCCI, claiming anonymity.
Speaking on the plight of Incomex, Vasanth Ladwa, former president of KCCI, said many industrialists are facing cash crunch because of demonetization. “It has affected industrial sector in a major way. Most of the companies have backed out because of this,” he added.
When contacted, Ramesh Patil, president of KCCI, clarified that Incomex-2016 was held successfully, despite getting a small grant from the state government. Over 100 industrialists from Bengaluru participated for only three days because their workload. “Otherwise, many industrialists took part in the expo on all the five days,” he added.
The president also said that they had invited ministers from the state, including the chief minister, and the Centre, “but they could participate due to their hectic schedule”.