Festive spirit pervaded across the city on Deepavali eve as surging crowds thronged the city’s commercial centres around Rockfort and Thillai Nagar to make their last-minute purchase on Friday.
Shoppers in droves descended on NSB Road, Big Bazaar Road, Singarathope and West Boulevard Road, the city’s main commercial district. There was a steady buildup of the crowd since morning. Shopkeepers said the festival business, though dull initially, gathered momentum in the past 10 days in the city. Heavy traffic was witnessed on West Boulevard Road, Thillai Nagar, Gandhi Market and around Central and Chathram bus stands, leading to frequent traffic snarls. Bumper-to-bumper traffic was witnessed on roads leading to the shopping hubs. There was little space left for pedestrians.
A large number of vendors had spread their ware along Singarathope, Big Bazaar Street, NSB Road, and Nandhi Kovil Street to draw bargain hunters. Clothes, dresses, furnishings, trinkets, household and electronic items... there was quite a variety on sale which went on right through the night.
The eleventh hour business usually offers customers a chance to buy products at throwaway prices. “It was very crowded out there. Despite the jostling, it was an enjoyable experience on the eve of the biggest festival of the year as we can strike a good bargain,” said Gowri, a city resident.
Sweet stalls across the city also drew big crowds. Dealers in white goods had come up with special festival offers.
No cracker of a sale
However, fire cracker retailers said business has been dull this year and it was evident in the sparse crowd in many of the shops on Friday morning.
Not only the number of shops selling fireworks has come down, sales has also taken a beating, said a shopkeeper, citing the strict enforcement of regulations by the authorities to ensure only licensed dealers sold firecrackers. In the recent years, customer preferences have also turned towards aerial fireworks that produced more of light than sound. But such fancy products were priced high.
The Central and Chathram Bus Stands witnessed huge crowds.
The Central bus stand was teeming with people, most of them heading for southern districts, while buses operating from Chathram Bus Stand towards destinations in Cuddalore, Perambalur and Ariyalur districts were packed with people returning home after the festival shopping.
