A day after the polls, firecracker dealers see unexpected boost in sales, as parties stock up on fireworks for counting day
A day after the polls, firecracker dealers see unexpected boost in sales, as parties stock up on fireworks for counting day
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Fire crackers dealers in the city were braced for bad business this Diwali due to swine flu and other factors. But they have now received an unexpected Diwali bonus. Yesterday, just a day after the Assembly polls, they were flooded with booking enquiries from political parties. The parties were all interested in stocking up on crackers for the election results, which will be announced on October 22.
Echoed firecracker seller Prafulla Maheshwari, "Last year, we saw a dip in business due to the economic crisis.
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So, when we placed our orders in December 2008, we reduced it by 20 per cent," he said.
But now, said Amrale, "We are hopeful that the orders from parties will salvage our Diwali business. We expect a 10 per cent increase in sales."
Amrale, who is also the MNS vice president in Pune, said parties that were expecting a clear majority were the ones purchasing crackers in bulk. He, however, refused to name any party or comment on his own party's stand.
Harshavardhan Patil, state cultural minister and Congress candidate in Pune district, said, "I have faith in my voters. They will certainly choose me this time too. We will celebrate the victory with a lot of fire crackers."
Anna Joshi, the NCP candidate from Kothrud, is also in an upbeat mood. He said, "My party workers are happy about the campaign and we are celebrating Diwali this time by stocking up on fire crackers."
Items in demand
Deepak Rawal, a wholesaler and distributor of crackers, said this time the added attractions were the fancy items. "We have Graphics 180, Clatter 64, Sky Buster 130. All these burst into images in the air. The fancy items are priced in the range of Rs 2,000 and Rs 8,000. "Politicians, IT professionals and industrialists are the main customers for these items," he said.
Though Rawal acknowledged that bulk bookings for crackers had begun, he and other firecracker dealers refused to divulge details about the parties and the volume of sales.
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