Diwali is just five days away but the sale of crackers hasn’t taken off like in the past, say sellers. According to them the sale of crackers in the city is low this year due to various factors including a rise in price of crackers and inflation. They attribute the rise in price to cost of production including high labour cost.
“The price of crackers has increased by 20 to 30 per cent. A medium-size flower pot which was `52 last year is `84 now. A similar hike can be seen in all other types of crackers. Obviously people do not want to spend so much,” says Periannan, an ex-navy official who runs a cracker shop at Red Fields. “People’s preference is slowly changing and children are more aware of the environmental hazards of bursting crackers. Bursting crackers for Diwali is a diminishing trend,” he says.
The spending capacity of the people has been curtailed due to high inflation, says Kethari, a seller at Town Hall. “It’s true that sales are not too good this year. This time last year we were very busy attending to customers and we are sitting idle today. The business has come down by 40-50 per cent. Many still haven’t got their bonus and it’s month end,” he says.
Many are hopeful that sales will look up soon. They say two days before Diwali is the key business time. “Those who have a craze for crackers will burst them even if they are costly. I am hopeful of better business in coming days,” says Peter, another seller. The market is flooded with different varieties of crackers.