Diwali buzz back with a bang in city

Hyderabad: After a year's lull due to Covid, the Diwali festivities are going to be back with a bang with citizens painting the town red. The brightly-illuminated markets in the Old City and other parts of the State capital on Thursday boasted of huge crowds buying firecrackers, lights, home appliances etc.

With the festival of lights just a day away, many were seen buying large amounts of crackers. Similarly, the footfalls in electronic shops, cloth stores and showrooms have been on the rise for the last few days with several markets like Begum Bazar, Monda Market etc witnessing huge traffic jams with many visiting the markets to make Diwali purchases.

"It is a good sign that people are excited going to market and making purchases. Demand for everything has increased. This year, the green crackers are in high demand," said B Sanjay Kumar, a wholesaler in Begum Bazar.

"I am very much excited this time as I will be bursting crackers after a year. With the Supreme Court ordering only bursting green crackers, I have bought them as they don't make much noise. However, their cost is a bit expensive," said Anu, a customer purchasing crackers at Begum Bazar.

According to representatives of market associations, the sale of electronic goods too has picked up. The demand for TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and other goods have gone up with many outlets offering exciting discount offers.

Meanwhile, it is observed that no temporary stalls were established for selling firecrackers. Meet Shah, one of the citizens, said that usually most of the temporary stalls would be selling normal crackers which are now banned. "The production, sale and import of such crackers is prohibited and only green crackers are allowed," he added.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation too issued orders prohibiting the sale and use of banned firecrackers after the Supreme Court's directive on regulating the bursting of crackers. Telangana Fire Works Dealers Association (TFWDA) said that this year, 80 per cent of the crackers in the city market would be green crackers and only 20 per cent would be conventional ones which were left over from the last year. From next year, the city markets would only sell green crackers, it said.