Markets, commercial hubs and malls in Mysore were bustling with shoppers on the eve of Ganesh Chaturti.
Devaraja Market, where essential items such as flowers, fruits, vegetables and provisions can be picked up, was filled with shoppers not just from the city, but also from rural pockets.
Price of flowersThe sharp rise in price of flowers and fruits did not put off people. The price of flowers such as mallige (jasmine), kakada, crossandra (kanakambara), chrysanthemum, marigold and rose have shot up owing to the festival season.
A 1-metre length of jasmine and other flowers cost between Rs. 60 and Rs. 70. The rates are high in the residential localities as traders bring flowers from the main market.
Other markets such as Vani Vilas Market, M.G. Road Market, Kuvempunagar complex, Akshaya Bhandar junction, Saraswathipuram, Vivekananda Circle and other localities were also bustling.
As the city celebrated Gowri Habba on Thursday, people visited the markets on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning to buy Gowri idols for the puja.
Ganesh idols were also being sold in many localities and people, thanks to awareness campaigns, were seen searching for eco-friendly and clay idols. Idols painted in water colours and eco-friendly idols (unpainted idols) were in demand.
The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and many organisations such as Kukkarahalli Lake Protection Committee had appealed for eco-friendly festival celebrations.
The city’s major malls were also bustling with shoppers as many of them had offers for the festive season.
