Last-minute rush to prepare the fair grounds for foreign tourists has exposed the lack of seriousness among the ground-level workers of Sonepur Mela.

The month-long Sonepur Mela starts on Thursday with the Kartik Purnima Snan (bath) in the morning.

However, a formal inauguration is planned on Wednesday evening as the tourists, especially those from abroad, are expected to come by then. However, not even a single bamboo was seen at Paryatak Gram — where foreign tourists stay in Swiss cottages — till Monday evening.

Officials in Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC) claimed that the design of Swiss cottage has been changed this year and the new cottages arrived at Sonepur from Pushkar camel fair on Tuesday evening. “Till last year, the cottages put up at Paryatak Gram were made up of hay and grass. However, this time we are bringing original Swiss cottage tents as seen at the Pushkar cattle fair. The tents were delivered to us and they would be made ready by Tuesday night itself,” said a senior BSTDC official.

Tourism minister Javed Iqbal Ansari claimed on Tuesday that around 250 foreign tourists are expected to visit the fair — for which his department is spending around Rs 3 crore this year.

Paryatak Gram apart, neither the main stage nor the art and craft village was ready by Monday evening. Work had not even started on most of the stalls of different departments of the state government. Apparently, the deadline for finishing all works at fair venue was Monday.

Even though the deadline was missed, officials concerned at the fair venue still seemed confident about finishing up all works before the inauguration. Most of them had only two words to say, “Ho jaygea (It would be done)”, even though they were seen huffing and puffing while shuttling between Patna and Sonepur and running around the fair venue on the inaugural eve.

Tourism department principal secretary Deepak Prasad also promised that everything would be ready “on time”.

“Too many things are involved in this fair and the work is being done continuously. People would be working the entire night on Tuesday and everything would be ready on time,” said Deepak.

Whether things were left for the last minute, Deepak, a 1989-batch IAS officer said: “The work for Sonepur fair started well on time and most groundwork had been completed. Normally, things are rushed in the last two-three days of preparations and the same is happening here. However, we would be ready to welcome all to the fair tomorrow with complete preparedness.”

The cottages — blending the rural setting with modern facilities — are a major draw for thousands of foreigners thronging the fair. The rent for a single day at the cottages rose from around Rs 4,000 in 2012 to Rs 7,000 last year but it has been again brought down to Rs 4,000 this time. Around 20 Swiss cottages are being set up this year. Altogether 114 foreign tourists had stayed in the Swiss cottages last year. We have full bookings for the Swiss cottages for the first three days this time, including 16 bookings for the first day and 20 for the second day,” said the BSTDC official.

The event is arguably the largest cattle fair in Asia, which starts from Kartik Purnima (full moon day). Horses, dogs, donkeys, ponies, rabbits and goats are traded at the fair — also known as Harihar Kshetra Mela.