Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MS)

Mangaluru, Nov 14: The city is ready to celebrate Deepavali, festival of lights. Friday saw huge jump in sales of Goodudeepa, earthen lamp pots and lamp pots made of cow dung.

In fact, the market saw brisk business since a week. But the shopping culminated to high on Friday. Fancy shops, cloth stores, malls and shops selling Goodudeepas were crowded by buyers. Various colourful Goodudeepas were the main attraction. Small Goodudeepas were priced at Rs 150.

Lamp pots made of cow dung are in huge demand this year. Sellers are saying that people are demanding lamp pots made of cow dung in areas like Hampankatta and Car Street.

Lamp pots made of cow dung are manufactured by Ecchanna Dairy Services near Surathkal and supplied to various shops in the city. Thousands of such lamp pots are being sold every day. Even earthen pots are in good demand. People are showing interest in buying lamp pots that are decorated and are manufactured in various colours according to Harikrishna, owner of the company.

Cloth business is also upswing for the festival. "Compared to the past four to five months, the business has improved. Though it is less compared to last year, people are still buying clothes. Friday also saw a huge surge in sales," says Shekhar Poojary, who owns a cloth shop in the city.

Traffic caused chaos in the city as most of the roads in city area are closed for Smart City work. Public had a tough time approaching their favourite shops to buy goods needed for the festival.

A resident of the city complained, "Traffic congestion in Mangaluru is reaching the levels of Bengaluru. It is not right to carry out Smart City work during festival. People are facing difficulties in commuting. Do not know how to go to the market."

Cloth shop merchants are saying that they would have had more business if the road work was not undertaken there.