This Diwali, the fervour to burst crackers and purchase gold seems a bit muted. When this reporter visited shops at Mohammed Ali Road near Masjid Bunder market on Saturday, shop owners seemed to be losing their regular market share to illegal stalls selling the same booty at a reduced price
At Zaveri Bazaar, shop owners said the demand for gold and silver was low.
In what will come as good news to anti-noise campaigners, almost every seller admitted that the highest-selling crackers are sparklers, chakris and flower-pots, while the demand for noise-making bombs and rockets has reduced.
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Bombs are not as much in demand this season
Mohammed Kasif, a shop owner, said, “People are buying sparklers and flower pots that range from Rs 150 to Rs 500 a packet. We have managed to sell very few rockets and bombs this year. Butterfly and snake-shaped crackers meant for kids are also in big demand.” Other shop owners were furious about the profusion of illegal stalls in front of their stores, which are cutting into their profits.
Meanwhile, though Zaveri Bazaar seemed crowded, shop owners said the demand had not increased in time for Diwali. Daulal R Vohra, owner of a store established in 1788 said, “It’s business as usual. There has been no increase in the sale of silver or gold today. We expected the sales to go up as it is believed to be auspicious to purchase these metals during Dhanteras, but there has been no such upsurge. We hope to make a bigger sale on Sunday.” u00a0
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