Tirupati: Skyrocketing of prices fails to deter festive spirit

Tirupati: The skyrocketing of prices of puja materials required for observing Vinayaka Chavithi failed to deter the festive tempo in the pilgrim city.

The prices of flowers, fruits, sugarcane, plantain saplings and Patris saw two to three fold increase than the normal prices of them while arrival of limited stock and police restrictions against hawkers selling items in busy junctions due to the pandemic added more to the woes of common devotees. Even a second variety apple sold Rs 200 a kg above against its normal rate of Rs 100 a kg while flowers and patris abnormal price shocked the people.

One welcome trend this time was absence of huge size idols and availability of more and more clay idols in the city which witnessed heavy turn of people for purchase of material at several places even as the police who were deployed all over the city to ensure physical distancing of purchasers.

Sri Varasidhi Vinayaka Utsava Committee took up distribution of clay idols to children to make them in their homes for Ganesh puja so as to celebrate the fete in an eco-friendly manner and also lessen the cost of idols.