Himachal: No rush seen in markets ahead of Diwali, shopkeepers blame inflation

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], October 23 : The high inflation rates make this Diwali a moderate one for the shopkeepers in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. Markets in Shimla are facing problems in selling crackers as fewer people visit the market, and shopkeepers blame inflation.
"This time no rush is being seen in the market. Inflation has gone up so much that people have started to be hesitant to spend extra apart from daily expenses as they have to do their savings for themselves. Bursting green crackers are allowed here. Diwali is a huge festival for Hindus. Not many sales are taking place during the festival," said a shopkeeper at Sanjauli Anjali.
Some shopkeepers said that the market is set out of the city could be one of the reasons for the drop in sales.
"Market anyway is going loose. 30-40 per cent market of crackers is going up. There is zero response that we are receiving. The market is out of the city could be one of the reasons. Inflation is also playing a role in it," said a shopkeeper at Lakkad Bazar, Nitin Sood.
While the other shopkeepers said that like every year, this time there is no rush. Earlier, customers used to come. The shops were never vacant. No stall has customers. Inflation is very high. People think we are selling it at high prices, but we are getting crackers costly," said Raj Kumar a shopkeeper at Lakkad Bazar.
Other shopkeepers have been smart to buy fewer crackers due to their cost and inflation.
"This time, we are facing a lot of inflation because this time, we also can't see the gathering of people like we used to see earlier. Due to inflation, very few people are coming. I have also bought fewer crackers as there is nothing less than Rs 400. If it continues, then I think we can't even buy the crackers which we are buying this year. Diwali is not as good this time as it used to be," said Harijan Sharma, another shopkeeper.