VELLORE: On the eve of the rule making helmets mandatory for riders of two-wheelers, shops selling helmets went out of stock, with hordes of two-wheeler-riders thronging retail outlets selling helmets.
“I was expecting someone to go to court stalling the enforcement of this rule, which is why I was putting off the purchase,” said Ravi, an executive of a private company, one of many queuing outside a helmet store.
He was unable to get a helmet and was not sure how he was going to manage on his two-wheeler without a helmet on Wednesday.
Two-wheeler owners did not expect shops to have no helmets in stock, especially when they need it most.
Fort City has three or four retail outlets selling branded helmets with all of them putting up display-banners stating they were out of stock.
“Some two-wheeler riders had purchased the helmets as soon as the announcement was made last month.
The demand, however, remained lukewarm and so we were not too keen on placing orders for more helmets,” said a helmet vendor. “Now that there is a demand, we will get more helmets in the next couple of days.”