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Holi sales dwindle in Chandigarh amid Covid restrictions
The Chandigarh administration has banned Holi celebrations in Sukhna Lake and Sector 17 Plaza, which has affected sales ahead of the festival
With Covid cases rising in the city and the administration banning the celebration of Holi in public government parks, Sukhna Lake and Sector 17 Plaza, shopkeepers selling Holi items have reported huge losses, as the festival will mostly be observed on a small scale this year.
Bobby Gakkhar, who supplies items like water guns, balloons and colours, said, “Around 30% of the shopkeepers start to procure stock for Holi around a month before the festival. Big retailers spend about ₹1 to 2 lakh to get the latest water guns, which many did this year as well, as Covid numbers were low around February end. Now, even I haven’t sold even one packet of water balloons, which used to be a staple in previous years.”
Gakhar said that shopkeepers are now willing to sell water guns without any mark-up in prices, as they still have no takers. “Something that would have sold for ₹300 last year, is now available for ₹120, but nobody is ready to buy. Shopkeepers are also in a dismal mood, and many of them won’t set up stalls in front of their shops like previous years, as the festive spirit is missing.”
Even sweet shop owners remain cynical about Holi sales this year. Proprietor of Uttam Sweets, Balwinder Singh Uttam, said, “We will be preparing festive sweets, but since people won’t visit each other’s houses, the quantity that we prepare will be reduced almost by half.” Proprietor of Sindhi Sweets, Neeraj Bajaj added, “Sales will drop by 50% and we won’t prepare many gift boxes this time. We will make gujiya, since it has close ties with the festival. Apart from that, we will stock normal sweets like rasgullas.”
President of Chandigarh Beopar Mandal (CBM) Charanjiv Singh said, “This is a sad time for all and shopkeepers are suffering losses, but there isn’t much we can do. We hope that the number of cases decline soon.”
Jail stocks up on gujiya
The Central Jail has been working to produce gujiya for Holi, which is sold at the jail itself and their Srijan Store in Sector 22. Assistant inspector general (jails) Virat said, “We will sell organic colours, while advising the people to maintain protocol while playing holi. However, the emphasis is on preparing gujiya. We have already started receiving orders for it.”
