Domestic LPG at Sangai Fest venue : Stall construction at Sangai Fest venue yet to be completed
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 22 2017:
A large number of stall owners for the 8th edition of Manipur Sangai Festival have been left disheartened with the incompetence of the State Tourism Department, as till the time of filing this report, stall construction work for is far from over at Lamboikhongnangkhong.
A quick visit to the venue of the Sangai festival at Lamboikhongnangkhong and it is hard to believe that it is one of the venues for Manipur Sangai Festival as many workers were found still engaged in the construction work of the stalls which were provided to the stall owners to exhibit their products.
Many stall owners were also found sitting with their products on the floor and waiting for the completion of their respective stalls , to showcase and sell their products during the festival.
While passing through the completed and allotted stalls, most of them were found to be food stalls with only a few stalls which sold other items.
Some food stalls were also found using consumer LPG cylinders and most of the areas were not well maintained and filled with dust and stones.
Speaking to The Sangai Express, one of the women stall owners waiting for the completion of stall construction, said that the embarrassing predicament is due to the failure of the State Government and the Tourism Department to provide proper stalls despite the festival being formally inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind yesterday at Bheigyachandra Open Air Theatre (BOAT) .
She claimed that most of the stall owners have failed to get their stalls although they deposited their money and booked the stalls in time soon after the related notification and added that the it is the duty of the authority concerned to have proper knowledge of how many parties applied for stalls prior to the inauguration.
The woman further alleged that the main reason behind the problem is the influence of high level officers, Ministers and MLAs of the State and the practice of providing favours to their contacts and acquaintances.
She also said that if the stalls were provided in a proper and fair manner then the problem could have been averted.
Many stall owners disappointed with the organiser of the festival, were found leaving the venue hoping that the construction of the stalls get over at the earliest.