Traders do brisk business on fancy crackers

Rourkela: With a day to go for Diwali, the market places in the Steel City are doing brisk business of articles required for the Festival of light. Around 400 small and big shops are selling these item including various kinds of crackers, Diyas, Kalash, Kumpis, candles, Kaunriya sticks, castor oil, incense sticks, wick thread, etc.

Gajapati, Koelnagar, Panposh, Chhend, Uditnagar, Basanti Colony and Main Market are the places thronged by customers.

“For the Diwali season, we have purchased crackers from Supreme Fire Works factory of Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, for Rs. 20 lakh”, said Agarwal, a cracker wholesaler of the daily market. All wholesale items are sold on 30 per cent discount and their prices range from Rs. 20 to Rs. 5000, Agarwal added.

Pratap, another cracker trader of Ispat market, said, “This time, we have brought more fancy crackers for this Diwali season, such as electric sparklers, crackling sparklers, Jhur Jhuri, Chakri, Multi Mix Sparklers, colourful sparklers.” Demand for these crackers is high, he said. Other items like Signal crackers, Aeromatic Rockets, Bomb Rockets, Kumpi crackers, Tala futkas are preferred more by the youth.

Sunil Das, another cracker shopkeeper of Ambagaon Market said, “We have, this time, a wide range of eco-friendly crackers, which are safe and cheaper.”

One of the most sought after items is the toy gun for small children. “Toy guns are safe for small children,” said Tapas Parida, a customer. But Srinibas Rath, a resident of Koel Nagar, said this year, he has purchased fancy type of crackers for his family, preferring a price range between Rs. 50 and Rs. 100.

Brahamdev Pandit, a shopkeeper, is doing brisk business in earthen items such as kumpi, jhuna dani, diyas, kalash, which were brought from Khumbharpada of Malgodown area. Kaunriya sticks, candles, castor oil, incense sticks, wick thread, etc. are also available on different stalls with price starting from Rs. 5 to Rs. 120.