Denizens warming up to winter wear

Secunderabad: With the mercury levels dropping in twin cities, sales of woolen sweaters, monkey caps and other winter wear have increased considerably in shopping malls as well as at street stalls. The temperature in the twin cities dropped even further with the onset of cold winds due to Pethai cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, forcing people of all ages to take out woolen clothes, kept for the purpose, in bureaus and cupboards and others to rush towards malls and street vendors selling winter cloths.

To cater to the increasing demand for winter wear and attract customers, vendors are showcasing new fashionable varieties as also serving the purpose of protection from chill weather. Dark colored jerkins, woolen cloths of various designs and other fashionable winter dressing are finding more buyers. Malls are offering new models of sweaters manufactured by the branded companies to cater to the needs of rich customers. New varieties of sweaters in different colors and designs are attracting youth seeking fashionable attires. Apart from sweaters, leather jackets and gloves have more youth customers, especially from employees who commute daily to their offices and businesses on bikes and scooters. Shops are offering new varieties of imported leather jerkins, two-way colored jackets and also embroidered woolen sweaters this winter.

Apart from malls and other shops, middle and poor class people prefer buying from street vendors who come from different north eastern states and Kashmir. Vendors from Tibet have established at least 20 winter wear shops near old Gandhi hospital and are doing brisk sales because of low prices. Neelima, a customer who bought from a Tibetan street vendor, said that she bought a pure woolen sweater at an affordable price. While most of us can afford winter clothing to protect from the extreme cold weather, there are many who sleep on streets and cannot afford to buy winter clothing. Some destitute people even die of cold. Several social activists and charitable institutions provide blankets and sweaters to destitute people sleeping on the roads. There are shelter homes for destitute and people living on streets, but sadly not much of advertisements is done by the GHMC.

BY K B Ramesh