Cooler summer puts business on ice, dampening air-cooler sales at Delhi's Kamla Market

Since 2008, traders at Kamla Market—dubbed as Asia's biggest air-cooler market—have seen a sharp drop in sales. This May, Kamla Market wears a deserted look as scattered rain and delayed summer heat have sapped the demand for cooling products.The historic municipal market, built in 1952, has long served Delhi’s middle class with a wide range of air coolers. But this year, retailers are grappling with dwindling footfall and unsold stock.President of market traders' association Bali Ram, a 78-year-old trader, puts it bluntly: "We can blame people, but not nature. If there's no heat, why would anyone buy a cooler?"Kamla Market, originally built for Pakistani refugees, is now in transition, with plans for a commercial complex underway. Still, it remains a key hub for cooler sales, supplying products to states like UP, Rajasthan and Bihar.Local trader Islam says, “If we’re switching off our ACs at midnight, how can we expect buyers to need coolers?”For workers like Raju Paswan, who relies on commissions from cooler sales, the slowdown has hit hard. “I’ve been waiting since morning—no customers, no money,” he says, sitting under a tree outside a shop.