Despite rain, shopping for Deepavali in full swing at Thoonga Nagaram
MADURAI: On the eve of Deepavali, people in Madurai were in a hurry to complete their shopping despite rain. Major streets in the region such as Town Hall road, Nethaji road and South Masi street witnessed heavy crowd during late Saturday afternoon and vendors were having a busy time catering to them. Many shops also attracted customers with discount rates.
With heavy crowds, there is sure to be strict vigilance from the police department. As per the directive of Commissioner of Madurai City Police S Davidson Devasirvatham, adequate police force was deployed in the prime areas to safeguard and tackle any unforeseen circumstances. Nearly 60 CCTV cameras were installed along these crowded streets and roads and four watch towers manned by the police personnel, who monitored the crowd flow through cameras. Apart from that, advertisements over public address system were restricted. A few civilian police staff were also deployed as crime prevention tool, the Commissioner of Police said.
As a part of crowd control measure, heavy and light vehicles were denied entry to Madurai city on October 24 and 25. As crowds increased, two-wheelers were restricted from entering Nethaji road, South Masi street and Avani Moola street, Devasirvatham said. Apart from buying apparels, many shoppers were seen buying household items also. Belts and wallets were also largely sold. Heavy traffic snarls were seen on South Masi street and shoppers found it difficult to get space even to park their vehicles.
Karthick, a vendor from Theni, who sells garments during the festival period on Nethaji road, says, “Sales are unmanageable during evening time. I sell only men’s wear and this year, the cost of shirts is from Rs 100 to Rs 150. Mostly, they are sold at discount rates. While three plain shirts are sold at Rs 200, three checked shirts are sold at Rs 300. The pants are available from Rs 120 to Rs 150. Further, inner wear is sold at Rs 40.”
Another vendor on Town Hall road, A Manikandan, selling belts and wallets, said that due to change of Periyar bus stand, the crowd dipped. “Earlier, the bus stand gave easy access to the crowd to come to the market to do their purchases, but since the bus stand is under construction for the ‘Smart Project’, there is lesser number of customers. Although the rain disappointed S Ateek, a garment seller on South Masi street, as customers did not turn up, he felt elated when the rain ceased in the evening thus making a good turnout. With shops being allowed to open till 2 am, many traders and vendors were happy that sales progressed on the eve of the festival. Somu, who sells plastic plates and cups in the same street, stated that his sales came down by 40 per cent owing to intervention of online trade and that the flow of money is not regular.