NELLORE: The poor state of economy, coupled with skyrocketing prices of crackers, is the reason the festive season to be dull this year.Nelore district is well known for celebrating the Deepavali festival on a grand scale as North Indians constitute about a third of the district’s 25 lakh population.Every year, on an average, they spend `25 lakh on firecrackers.In Nellore city, people living in Gonnalagaddalavari Street, Kapu Street, Chinna Bazar, Nalugukalla Mandapam, Achari Street, etc, which are the hub of gold business, would burst crackers worth `15 lakh on the two days of the festival.“ We do not mind spending any amount of money on firecrackers but this year we are in second thought because of the high prices of crackers.I am thinking of purchasing `15,000 worth of firecrackers.Last year I bought `25,000 worth of crackers,” says Y.Chamanlal, a gold merchant. According to sources, about `75 lakh worth of crackers are sold in the district during the festival every year.As many as 20 wholesale and 200 retail shops are established in Nellore city, and 10 wholesale and 100 retail outlets each in Gudur and Kavali towns.But this year, wholesale and retail outlets are fewer in number as sellers are not able to invest heavily on the business. KVS Prasad of Visalakshi Fire Crackers says that due to increase in the cost of raw material, labour shortage, transport costs, site rents, licence fees forced most venders to close down the business.Moreover, they were forced to supply crackers free of cost to government officials and leaders of political parties to keep them in good humour.Thus, each shop had to incur a minimum loss of `1 lakh on free supply, he says. Another wholesaler, A Somulu, puts it candidly: “Almost all crackers have witnessed 40 to 50 percent hike in prices.We have not got many orders this year compared to the previous year.If the same situation continues, it is better to wind up the business.” According to him, a bunch of dozen Nellore Guns, which cost `10 last year, costs `25 this year, the cost of flower pots, which was `170 last year, is `250 this year.The prices of every variety of crackers have gone up abnormally. A Subrahmanyam Reddy, who has been running a retail outlet on the Trunk Road in the city for the last 20 years, says, “I have sold crackers worth just `10,000 in the last two days.I have never witnessed such a fall in the sale of crackers in the past two decades.Though the crowds are big, the sales are low.This is because the buyer visits the shop with a fixed amouny.If the prices are high, he purchase very few crackers.”
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