HYDERABAD: Many in the business of selling kites and associated paraphernalia say that their business is extremely poor this year as compared to previous years. The kite sellers say that there is a dip of more than 30 per cent to 40 per cent in kite sales as compared to previous years.
The owner of Motilal Patang, Rajesh Kumar, who has been selling kites for the past 80 years says, "This year the business is very poor. Earlier, flying kites used to start almost a month before the festival. Now, people only fly kites on the day of Sankranti to mark the festivity. It is no more a popular sport in the city." Blaming a prolonged monsoon in 2018, another kite seller in Begum Bazar said that as the monsoon went on till November, the production of kites did not start on time.
"Many of the city’s shopkeepers get kite and manja from Kanpur, Bareilly and Gujarat. As the monsoon season was prolonged, the production and transport were delayed, which is why there are fewer varieties of kites in the market this year," said the owner of Patang Ghar, Mohammad Altaf.
Officials take up awareness campaigns on illegal manja sale
HYDERABAD: Talking about the illegal sale of manja in the city, Telangana forest department, OSD (wildlife), A Shankaran said, "To curb sale this year, the department has formed five teams, which will raid shops, and will also take up awareness campaigns." He added, "NGO volunteers can also be part of the teams. As of now, we have not found Chinese manaja in any shop, but we are on the lookout."