A day before Lokotsav began on Jan 26, crowds gathered at the Directorate of Arts and Culture for the allotment of and payment for stalls for the national festival of handicrafts and folk artists at Campal. There were 750 applicants for 550 stalls. Applicants collected the forms on Jan 12 and 13 on a first-come-first-serve basis by lining up at 5 am. People were made to stand in the corridor of the department instead of being seated in the multipurpose hall and were called one by one. The recurring confusion and ensuing chaos during the allotment of stalls at Lokotsav and the Ashtami fair by the Corporation of the City of Panaji could be avoided by a simple fine-tuning of the process.
The concerned offices should notify 15 days in advance of any event, the total number of stalls available, cost, payment mode (cash, demand draft, online, card), and other details. The information can be disseminated through newspapers, displayed on the office notice boards, and the website so that only those persons who are interested and financially capable can apply for a stall. This would also prevent the sale of forms in the black market as reportedly happened during the Ashtami fair last year. After announcing the last date to submit the forms, a public draw could be held to pick the winners. Why waste human hours and resources in this digital age when the work could be quick, fair, and transparent?
