The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Spate of complaints from Pravasi Bharatiya Divas delegates

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 07, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Spate of complaints from Pravasi Bharatiya Divas delegates

Staff Reporter

THE RUSH IS ON: NRIs registering themselves for Saturday's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Hyderabad on Friday.

HYDERABAD: Barely hours to go before the much-hyped Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) takes off and even before the jetlag of the NRIs who flew into Hyderabad wears off, there was a spate of complaints.

The spot registration of delegates appeared to be suffering from hiccups. The telephone numbers listed on www.pbd2006.org went unanswered for the most part. A delegate from Atlanta found his name missing when he landed at the PBD's central registration desk set up at Greenlands here. When he said he had registered online and wanted to pay the delegate's fees, he was handed over a thick sheaf of papers containing names of delegates and their details in almost microscopic print.

Woes galore

Some delegates from Silicon Valley found themselves at a loss when PBD officials at another registration desk set up near Shilpa Kala Vedika said they had no details. The delegates were directed to Greenlands where the tale of woes continued. Once the forms were filled in, participants had to pay up at a counter where the credit card swiping machine would work off and on.

Once the delegate fee had been logged in, participants were sent to another counter where digital photos were taken. Then followed the hunt for officials who would stamp the I-cards. Delegates wondered why two rubber stamps were required and were told that while one was for security reasons, the other was for keeping a record of delegates.

While officials in-charge of accommodation were originally asked to block rooms for some 1,800 participants, the number fell sharply to 1,250. And senior officers of the Department of Tourism said that as of Friday, only 550 rooms had been occupied. A senior official from the Department of Industries confirmed that as of Friday evening only some 500-plus delegates had registered.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh