Firecracker traders in Kurali fear 70% dip in sales

Sanjay Bumbroo
Tribune News Service
Mohali, October 29

Due to Covid-19, business of wholesale firecracker traders at the Kurali market is likely to take a hit this year.

Going by the claims of wholesale dealers at the Kurali market, the sale of crackers is likely to dip by nearly 70 to 75 per cent this season.

Traders believe that people were scared of Covid and were unlikely to come out to purchase firecrackers for Diwali.

One of the traders, Sunder Lal and Sons of Kurali, claimed they had decided to order lesser quantity of firecrackers from the manufacturers at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. He said earlier, their business used to start picking up two months before Diwali with small-time firecracker sellers and retailers placing their orders in advance. He said now, with just two weeks to Diwali, they have not received any order from retailers or customers in the tricity.

Balwinder Singh, president, Kurali Firecracker Dealers’ Association, said people were scared due to the pandemic.

He said he had never seen such a situation in 52-year tenure as a dealer. He said there was complete slump in the market as retailers were yet to place their orders. He said they hoped to get the orders after the traders in the region received temporary licences.

Traders said this year, small-time businessmen were scared of investing money in the business.

The firecracker market in Kurali, which caters to retailers of several nearby towns, including Morinda, Mohali, Chandigarh, Panchkula, Ropar, Sirhind, Bassi Pathana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Kharar, Nawanshahr and some towns of Himachal Pradesh, witnesses a business of nearly Rs6 to 8 crore every year.