With Sankranti festival round the corner, festive fever has gripped the city. Garment shops, shopping malls, supermarkets, rythu bazaars and grocery stores were seen brimming with festive shoppers. Traffic snarls were reported at many places in the city, due to the rush.
Discounts galore
Almost all garment stores were jam-packed and to cash in on the demand all stores were seen offering discounts on Saturday, apart from conducting lucky draws to lure customers, since the last couple of days. Jagadamba Junction area, a hub for garment shops and shopping malls, was seen packed with people. A similar scene was noticed on the NAD to Simhachalam road, Asilmetta, Kancharapalem, Daba Gardens, Old Gajuwaka, MVP Double Road, Dwarakanagar and Maddilapalem.
“It took at least half-an-hour just to stand in a queue and pay the bill, because of the rush. We bought a pair of dress for ourselves and two pairs for the children. The discounts being offered make us to buy more garments to save money,” said M Sai Sree, a resident of Beach Road in Visakhapatnam.
Severe traffic congestions were witnessed at major junctions of the city. At many junctions, policemen were not seem to monitoring the situation, leading to a chaos.
Since 6 p.m., the road in front of Swarna Bharathi Indoor Stadium that leads to District Medical Health Office (DMHO) area, was choked with traffic. Shoppers parked their vehicles on both sides of the road, and passing motorists had to suffer.
Similarly, vehicles moved at a snail’s pace on VIP Road, District Court Road, One Town, MVP Double Road and a few others areas.