Intermittent showers in the city brought cheers to the residents and farmers but it affected the traders and businesspersons, particularly hawkers who had put up stalls around the Town Hall in the city.
“We have been doing the business every Deepavali festival in the city for the past four years,” says R. Shanmugam, who had invested about Rs. 4 lakh for his business of selling bedspreads, towels, and lungis brought from Erode and Tiruppur. The continuous drizzle has hit the sale.
T. Senniappan (55), another trader, said he had brought garments from Chennimalai, Vellakovil, and Karur investing about Rs. 2 lakh. “Within a few hours after arranging the goods, it started raining bringing the business to a grinding halt,” he said.
Traders pointed out that although they had set up stalls a week ago, the peak period of the business could be witnessed only two or three days preceding the festival. “With only a couple of days left, the rains would definitely hit our business”, said K.C. Mani (60) referring to the weather forecast. He had invested Rs. 60,000 to sell the dhotis and lungis.
They said they have been catering to the needs of the lower income and middle income group categories. With the city accounting for a good strength of floating population, it was ideally suited for their trade.
