Floods make a dent into Puja business

CUTTACK: Even as the Durga Puja celebrations have begun to reach crescendo in the Millennium City, smiles are scanty and hesitantly forthcoming across the business community here.The devastating floods that ravaged the coastal districts of Cuttack and the neighbouring areas have hit Puja business hard this year with an absolute drain out of customers from outside the City to make their purchases here. So much so that the garments and the electronic goods and household appliances business have fallen steeply by around 30 per cent this Puja in comparison to previous years.The Puja celebrations in Cuttack and most other parts of the State are marked by revelry, wearing new clothes and buying household goods from electronics appliances to luxury items. But this year they have been running too slow in pace.The textiles and garments sector is the worst affected with most shops reporting substantial reduction in footfalls and sales than the preceding seasons. The S Mohanlal garment chain has even come forward to project business loss of 50 per cent this Puja. “We have been counting on the floating population from outside the city, mostly from the districts of Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur. As these very regions have been severely affected by floods, the inflow has dropped to nil this year. Consequently business has suffered”, director Ashok Agarwal said.Cuttack city experiences trade in garments and textiles to the tune of Rs 100 crore during the Puja season. Earlier the proportion of the customers from outside of Cuttack were higher than the residents of the City. But with opening of garment shops and brand retail chains across the peripheries in the neighbouring districts, the customer base has fallen.“But still a large number of people flock to the city during the Pujas, primarily because of the wide choice and range available here,” says Rabindra Lenka of Jayram Lenka and Sons, who has projected lowering of sales by about 20 to 30 per cent this year.The electronic goods and household appliances sector has also suffered on account of the flood. “We are experiencing a halt in customers from outside though an increase in buyers from within the city is compensating the sales loss,” said Kailash Patra of Patra Electronics here.