THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Apart from bringing festive cheer to the city, Attukal Pongala also garners substantial business for traders. However, with Covid-19 restrictions in place and the pongala offering being allowed only on the temple premises and at houses, the city is devoid of the festive spirit this year. The business of traders is yet to pick up even as the festival enters its seventh day on Thursday. The businessmen aren’t pinning much hope on the days before the pongala, which falls on Saturday.
Though the pongala is being conducted without much fanfare this year, what makes it duller is that many of the residents are refraining from visiting the temple due to the fear of Covid infection. The devotee footfall at the temple and the nearby stalls was visibly low.
According to the traders who have set up shop in the vicinity, the bidding on pop-up stalls did not see much participation while permit for the same was carried out on a case-to-case basis by the committee. “The business was already dull due to the pandemic. The footfall at the temple hasn’t picked up. Our revenue in the previous years was Rs 25,000-50,000 daily, or even more. We are now getting around Rs 5,000-6,000. Earlier, we employed around 12 staff members to manage the rush, and this year we are working with just two,” said Suresh Kumar, who runs a store near the temple.
Most of the traders near the temple are facing the same situation and they don’t expect the business to get better before the pongala day. “People from other districts used to arrive on the seventh day and that played a major role in the sales. Now, the few residents who come for pooja and annadaanam aren’t visiting the shops,” he added.
Balaramapuram native Abdul Rahman set up his cloth shop in one of the stalls. “People are reluctant to visit . However, the business has become better as compared to the first day of. The clothes are being sold at wholesale rates and even then people are asking to reduce the prices. The traders are forced to sell the products at low prices,” he said.
Chalai market takes a beating
“I assume that the businesses in the city have incurred a loss of around Rs 1,000 crore this time,” said Aryasala Suresh, KVVES Arayasala president and district vice-president. Most of the commodities -- from utensils, provisions, flowers to utensils and pots -- were procured and transported throughout the city from the Chalai market. However, the sale has been very low this year as the residents aren’t coming to the market, according to Suresh.
“The traders in the market didn’t procure new stock for pongala sale. It is disheartening to see that the old stock hasn’t been cleared since the festival began. The market used to get a humongous sale as people. Now, people are afraid to come to the market because of Covid-19 and the residents are buying the pongala materials from their locality itself. The people from other districts used to pour in to the market two days before the pongala day. Now, that business has also gone. The retailers and wholesalers are having very low sales these days. We hope it might pick up on Friday at least,” he added.
Business down by 70-80 per cent
According to a Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) official, the pongala business in the city has come down by 70-80 per cent as compared to the previous year. “Around 20 lakh people used to attend the festival every year. Restricting the pongala offering and cancelling of cultural programmes have affected every trader. It is a huge blow to people who run hotels, light and sound business, decoration and stage business, and many artists. The traders were hopeful of reviving their business this year, but things have worsened,” he said.