Lucknow overlooks pandemic woes to splurge on Dhanteras

Lucknow:  Putting the pandemic woes firmly behind, the Lucknow crowd splurged on Dhanteras like never before.

People purchased vehicles — two wheelers and four wheelers — worth Rs 500 crore on Thursday.

An official at the Regional Transport Office (RTO), who worked till late in the night on Thursday, said that more than a 1,000 cars and 3,200 two-wheelers were registered.

More vehicles will be bought on Friday since the ‘muhurat’ for Dhanteras shopping will continue through the day.

Gold, silver and diamonds — worth Rs 100 crore were purchased on Thursday.

“Majority of the customers bought gold and silver coins and diamond were in demand when it came to jewellery. Though the sales were lower compared to previous years, business was better than expected, especially after the lockdown,” said Shrilal Rastogi, a jeweller in Chowk area.

A diamond necklace sold for Rs 17 lakh and this was the highest single-item purchase of the season.

Real estate business, however, was poor this year and registrations of land and property worth a mere Rs 70 crore were done.

Mobile phones, interestingly, recorded higher sales and people bought phones worth Rs 80 crore in a day.

Gautam, who deals in mobile wholesale business, said that maximum customers opted for premium brands.

“The online classes have worked wonders for our business. Families are buying multiple mobile phones in the premium segment because children need them for online classes,” he said.

The sale of electronic items like television sets and washing machines clocked Rs 70 crores while the garment industry could manage sales worth Rs 20 crore.

Bakery items and dry fruits sales whizzed past sweetshops this year.

“People are opting for dry fruits and bakery items as gifting options since they have a longer shelf life. We have also included these items our list,” said a prominent sweet shop owner.

Businessmen said that online shopping witnessed a major boost this year in the state capital.

“According to rough estimates, people have shopped online for products worth around Rs 150 crore. Even our online sales have outstripped the offline sale,” said Sharad Kohli who owns a multi-brand store in Lucknow.

(IANS)

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