Jammu, Oct 24: The Diwali festival may be less noisy this year as the rising price of crackers is sure to keep many firecracker lovers away.
 If the indications are right, about 40 per cent increase in the price of crackers over last year is expected this Diwali.
 Firecracker traders said a customer who spent Rs 1,500 on firecrackers last Diwali will now have to shell out around Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,200 for getting the same quantity this year.
 “The cost of crackers has shot up manifold over last year. The hike is mainly because of increase in fuel prices, freight charges, raw material,” said Neeraj Kumar, a firecracker trader who has installed a crackers shop at Samadhian road said.
 Official sources said around 15 wholesalers have been given permission for selling crackers at Samadhian, while nearly 50 more retail stalls will be installed there. The crackers are also being sold on wholesale as well as retail rates at Dusshera ground in Gandhi Nagar.
 Many traders are however offering discount to lure customers.
 “Lighting fire crackers on this Diwali is surely a costly affair as there has been sharp increase in prices of even small crackers. We will surely cut the budget for firecrackers considerably,”   Sumita Sharma, a housewife from Panjthirthi said.
 “We usually spend Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 on firecrackers but this year it will cost around Rs 4,000 or even more,” she added.
 Narinder Singh, a PSU employee said: “There is no check on the rates of firecrackers as the authorities don’t bother to conduct inspections and it provides an opportunity to traders to charge at their will.”
 Many traders, however, attributed a variety of reasons for the sluggish sales. “The ever increasing prices could be one reason. As the Diwali falls on the last week of the month, the non-release of salaries in advance could be another major factor that may dampen the festive spirit in the city,” they said.
 They said candles and other decorative items like artificial diyas made up of small, bulbs, idols of Lord Ganesh, earthen lamps, colourful Chinese lights and buntings are also being sold on high rates. The rates of candles and earthen lamps have witnessed an increase of 25 to 30 percent over the last year.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 IST