Deepavali fails to light up shops in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The ongoing festive season has been unable to bring a cheer back to markets reeling under the brunt of Covid-19. Local vendors and traders in Bengaluru said that they have witnessed fewer sales due to the pandemic this Diwali.

Most of the vendors claimed that footfall to the markets has come down due to the pandemic.

"People are not visiting markets as much as they used during the last years. There was a time when we didn't even use to get time to have food till evening. And now we are sitting idle here during the peak festive season of Diwali," said a vendor.

Another shop owner stated that people were scared to come out to the markets due to the pandemic. "We are facing huge losses due to the reduced number of buyers to our shop," said a local shopkeeper.

Many were confident that the festive season would bring in more business. "We had hoped that during Diwali season we will get an opportunity to earn some profit. However, the business has failed to pick up," said another local shopkeeper. ANI