With elections bring fortune for some people, particularly labourers, who are ready to toil overtime. A group of stencil cutters in the Gandhi Market area have started receiving orders from few political parties for making stencils of party symbols to be used for painting on the walls. “We first draw the sketch of the symbol and after we give some finishing touches to it,” says Abdul Rahman, a stencil cutter. He says that with electioneering yet to gain momentum and expects more orders from the political parties in course of time. It takes about half-an-hour to prepare a couple of stencils, and sold Rs.250 a piece.
There are about 20 labourers in the area who are skilled in designing party symbols. “But, we have not received much orders so far,” says Mustaffa, another stencil cutter. “Each of us normally get orders for at least 50 pieces from each party, but it will be towards the peak of the electioneering,” they said.