The number of people searching for the blessings of goddess of luck is on the rise in Kottayam. Too many people have made it a habit to visit lottery agencies which are mushrooming dime a dozen in the town. The regular draw of tickets gives them a chance to test their luck often.
Another interesting thing is the presence of people from Tamil Nadu in the business. Almost all the agencies in the town are run by them.
According to Saravanan, from Tamil Nadu, who runs an agency near the old private bus stand, many people visit his shop regularly and it is the `20 tickets that are in great demand. Karunya tickets are also in great demand. He informs with a smile that the number of lottery agencies are increasing in the town. He manages both a retail and a whole-sale business.
However, Siva is not that lucky. There are no regular customers for him and he complaints of dull business this month compared to the past month. Siva informs that he is able to sell on an average 100 tickets priced at `50 and `40 everyday.
According to him around 2.5 lakhs of tickets are being sold everyday in the district. Many manage to get lucky, but most end up spending a lot of money in vain. He suggests that the authorities offer more prizes for the seekers of luck. For a `50 ticket, a seller gets `12.50 as commission. For `40 and `20 tickets one can get `10 and `5, respectively, as commission.
Durai is the manager of a very famous shop at Thirunakkara which sells the most number of tickets in the town. Two weeks back, he managed to sell a Karunya lottery ticket which was the first-prize ticket, won by a person from Uzhavoor.
He adds that his customers regularly win prizes ranging from `1 lakh to `5 lakh four to five times a week. In the bumper category, it is the Christmas and Onam bumpers that are sold the most.