Warangal: Coolers biz down in the dumps

Warangal: Even though the use of air-coolers and air-conditioners in times of coronavirus pandemic is a subject of concern, the local manufacturers and sellers of room coolers have their backs to the wall owing to the prevailing lockdown. This is the first time that the air-cooler, the poor man's air-conditioner, business has come to a grinding halt ever since the local entrepreneurs picked it up, around 1990.

With the ever-increasing temperatures, the necessity of air-coolers, also known as swamp coolers, has also increased in Warangal as elsewhere in the country in last three decades. Understandably, the demand for air coolers, especially from the middleclass, is high as they are amazingly effective and inexpensive in keeping their homes cool.

"Prior to the 1990s, only the branded coolers were available in the market. Priced anywhere above Rs 6,000 each, then it was treated as a luxury appliance affordable only to the upper middle classes. We started manufacturing air coolers in the mid-90s, shifting our business from almirah making," Md Ahmed, the owner of Unicon Air Coolers, located near Thousand Pillars temple, told The Hans India.

Elaborating further, Ahmed said that their aim was to produce economically viable coolers made of fibre body and later on plastic, affordable to all sections of the society. Initially, we used to procure motors and other materials required for assembling coolers, said Ahmed, who along with his brothers – Md Ismail and Md Abid – runs his business. The lockdown that turned one month on April 22 and appears to extend beyond May 7, there is a very bleak chance of selling the piled-up stock this season, he said.

Normally, the making of coolers starts in January and picks up pace as summer peaks. The sales pick up as soon as the mercury touches 40 degree Celsius. Although there is no authentic data available of the cooler makers, the number is quite a size with livelihood of no less 500 families depending on it. Even though the sellers are everywhere in the city, they are not completely depended on it.

The biter fact is that once the rains set in, the business totally collapses and the manufacturers have to wait for the next season. The local-made coolers manufactured in Warangal range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,000.

The lockdown not only preventing the customers procuring from new air coolers, but also causing inconvenience to the denizens, whose coolers have gone dysfunctional due to glitches. Meanwhile, the sellers say that they are getting quite a few enquiries from customers, who are willing to purchase coolers with summer peaking.