Barely hours after the fair was thrown open on Wednesday, electricity supply stopped. Rows of stalls went dark and some like Mahendra, a tea stall owner, had to shut shop. “I have a vending machine and I don’t know whether I will be able to do any business at all today,” he said.

Betty Battsetseg B, managing director of the Mongolian publishing house, Bolor Sudar, didn’t know who to approach to get an electricity connection for her stall. “We have had a stream of visitors in our stall since afternoon. But now we can’t entertain them because there is no electricity. We have been running from pillar to post but to no avail,” said Betty.

That apart, the inquiry counter at the fair made for a scene of utter chaos. The map drawn on the wall was hardly adequate and the inquiry personnel weren’t helpful either.

“I have been trying to locate the ladies’ washroom for the last half-an-hour but couldn’t find one. People at the enquiry counter were clueless,” said Monalisa Sen, a visitor from Beliaghata.