​Festive spirit strives to end slump gloom

Diwali, the festival of lights, is less than two weeks away but the market is anxiously waiting to see whether or not the festival ends the long slowdown and brings vibrancy back into business. The festive season this year arrived amid a general slump in the market and steep rise in prices.
Hence, businessmen from small dealers in the Wall City to giant showrooms in western parts of Ahmedabad — are all keeping their fingers crossed, and hoping that consumers will revive the market by their Diwali shopping.
Fireworks are the highlight of Diwali but people will have to pay 5 to 15% more for firecrackers this season. Crackers of Chinese and even Australian make are available this year —from remote controlled crackers to those which look like cascading waterfalls or create the image of a tree when fired — there will be considerable variety but not many new crackers.
Devang Choksi is a wholesaler in the walled city. He said that showers in late September this year had made customers postpone their cracker purchases.
“Retailers have now started approaching wholesalers for crackers but their response is lukewarm. Additionally, the ban on child labour in Sivakasi, the hub of firecrackers manufacturing, has also led to a fall in production this year,” Choksi said.
Every year the market has new types of firecrackers on offer but this year the situation is somewhat different. Rajesh Mehta, a wholesaler of ‘pistol cracker’ said that the mood in the market currently seems to be somber. “The market is down by 20%. There is nothing strikingly different being introduced in the market this year. One hopes the market picks up as the festival draws near,” Mehta said.