Chinese lights flood city markets

PATNA: Low electricity-consuming and cheaper Chinese LED (light emitting diode) decorative lights have overshadowed Indian lights as city markets are full with colourful lights in all shapes and sizes ranging from Rs35 to Rs600 for Diwali.
Fancy lights, rice lights, paper lamps, floral lights, diyas and tiered lamps — Chinese lights are shining with their multi-coloured hues at Chandani Market near Patna Junction.Indian lights like diya-shaped metallic lights illuminating idols of gods and goddesses are also there, but very few in numbers due to low demand.
Most of the products have been imported from China and the traders got it from Chandani Chowk market in Delhi, said a shopkeeper Santosh Kumar. “We have put both the lights — Indian as well as Chinese. However, we have seen that customers prefer Chinese lights over the local ones. At the end, consumer is the king. It is the boon time for us. If we don’t provide what they want, customers will probably get it from somewhere else. It will be our loss,” he said.
Another shopkeeper Govind Singh said customers want to decorate their homes with more fancy lights. “They won’t get varieties in Indian lights. Even if we bought the replica of same lights, the finishing is not as good as the Chinese ones. The Indian lights are costlier as well. If a Chinese product costs Rs70, the Indian variety is available at Rs190,” he said and added: “As Diwali is round the corner, the goods are flying fast off the shelves. The purchase is so far 60% for Chinese lights and 40% for Indian ones.”
A trader in decorative lights, Ashok Kumar said, “When it comes to decorative lights, people prefer Chinese products. Last year, the demand for Chinese products was less compared to this year. Chinese LED lights are available in various forms, among which the cap lights at Rs35, rice lights at Rs60, heart, flower, star and gobo-shaped lights at Rs100 to Rs150 and paper lamp at Rs200 to 250 are high in demand.”
Another shopkeeper Rishu Nath said, “Even though we prefer to sell Indian Diwal items, most of the customers opt for fancier Chinese products. We bought the products from Sadar Bazar, New Delhi.”
Surbhi Kumari of Mahendru said she preferred Chinese lights because these are cost-effective. “These lights look more fancy and glittery. We can use these lights for decoration without much additional electricity cost,” she said.
A Boring road resident, Meenakshi Sinha said she uses earthen lamps for Puja Ghara but decorate the house with rice lights. “To decorate the whole house, we use rice lights. If we get the same Indian product at equal rate to Chinese, why will we not prefer imported items,” said Sinha.