Vijayawada: All set for grand Diwali celebration
People purchasing firecrackers on the eve of Diwali festival in Vijayawada on Saturday Photo: Ch Venkata Mastan
VIJAYAWADA: People are gearing up to celebrate the auspicious Diwali with pomp and gaiety in the State.
Despite a drastic rise in the price of firecrackers and commodities when compared to the last year, people are rushing to the provision shops and fireworks shops to buy provisions and crackers within their capacity.
It is learnt that the rates of crackers have been hiked by 30 per cent this year and hence people have to spend additional Rs 1,000 to Rs 2000 this year.
Besides, prices of essential commodities have also gone up and people have to allocate additional budget this year for the festival celebration.
While in some States Diwali this year is being celebrated on Sunday, some decided to celebrate it on Monday. People here wish to celebrate the festival on both the days.
Besides, the State government also declared a holiday on Monday. With this, the people have two days leave to celebrate the festival with their children enthusiastically. Consequently, the public are purchasing more crackers for bursting with joy.
Meanwhile, there is good demand for clay diyas and their sales have increased significantly this year. The clay diyas were made available in various colours and designs attracting more people to buy them.
The clay diyas are being sold at Rs 30 to Rs 60 per dozen depending on the colours and designs. One of the devotees, A Nagababu of Machilipatnam, said that this year he bought crackers worth Rs 5,000 and added that he had purchased the same quantity of crackers last year for Rs 3,000.
He said that this year so many different varieties of firecrackers were being sold in the market which is also making the people to opt for more varieties. A resident of Gudivada S Sailaja said that this year she had purchased 3 dozen clay diyas by paying Rs 150. She said that the cost of the clay diyas increased by Rs 20 per dozen when compared to the last year.
On the other hand, the sweet shops are also witnessing a huge rush of people and recording high sales. Sharing sweets and Mithais on the occasion of Diwali has been a tradition for centuries. So people are thronging the shops to purchase sweets to share them with friends and relatives and families.