With Deepavali round the corner, thousands of shoppers were seen hopping from one shop to another at the busy ‘Sunday Market’ along Dr. Nanjappa Road on Sunday morning.
Affordable price
There are nearly 300 shops and goods are displayed on wooden platforms with plastic sheets overhead to protect from rain or shine. The shops which normally open only during weekends, sell T-shirts, denims, saris, salwar suits, bed sheets, bed spreads, door mats and other dress materials at an affordable price. About half of these shops were open from the beginning of November to cash in on the festival shopping crowd.
With works on for the flyover at Gandhipuram and rain in the evening hours, the traders say that the number of shoppers has reduced this year. Adding to this is the delayed bonus payment.
“Rush starts building up from Saturday, gains pace on Sunday morning and goes on till midnight,” says J.M. Akbar. Ibrahim of Ukkadam, another trader, says that he makes business for Rs.40,000 during normal weekends and it crosses Rs. 2 lakh on the weekend before Deepavali.
People who come here to work from Madurai, Theni and Tirunelveli are the main customers and they buy new clothes for their family before boarding a bus to their hometown for the festival.
A large number of migrant workers from Bihar and Odisha, who stay back for Deepavali, also make a visit to the market.
