una

NSW Premier Barry O ' Forre/1 with delegates were spent on the ve nue and on brochures distributed at d1e even t

Syd n ey resident Rajesh Kumar wco ce o n Tndian Link's Facebook page, "There was absolutely no marketing. If people (o r o rgan isation s) want to selJ so m ething, they fi rst have to spend money to sp read d1e word. Generall y our people h ave th is habiL in India of relying on the population, d1e quantiry but not the q uali ty; the lndian government has to realise that t he quantity sruff with no qu ality can work only in Inclia and not outside India".

The figure o f registered delegates bandied about was 600 ; however even at the pea k of the conference on Day Two, it was obvious d1at there were less than 350 people in attendance. When questioned about chis, organisers res p onded that chere bar/ been 600 r egistratio n s, and perhaps people chose not to attend. Ha.rd to believe, as th ere are n o t coo many people who woul d forfeit the atte n dance fees of $425

Th e cos t of S425 pe r delegate was deemed extreme eve n by those who did attend ot only was this amount prohi b itive to most in Sydney, intersrnte a nd overseas visitors would have had to add cravel and accommodation fares as welJ ' 1 foun d it very pricey," said o n e Sydney resi den t who chose nor co attend "There seems to be licde idea of the income and lifes cyle p r essures of the local Indian community"

He added laughingl y that one organisi ng committee member tried to entice him with di e attrac tion of food : two grand lunches and two dinners, besides quali ry speakers at the sessions (Reporting o n the event in Indian magazine Ken1/o Todq;•, delegate Treassa Joseph commented that m ost o f tbe atten dees were members of tl, e Indian community w ho were closely c o nnected co the Indian High Commi ssio n or organisations that were already engaged in b ilateral relations witb India).

The d ecision co run die event over weekdays was anod1ec point of contention. This meam d1at