Mumbai: The sale of decorative items for the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival have witnessed a slump in sales due to COVID-19 restrictions, news agency ANI reported.
"Earlier shops used to be thronged by customers, which is not the case now. Sale down to 20%. Not everyone is celebrating the festival this time," ANI quoted a vendor saying.
A vendor said that the sales are down to 20%| ANI
Ganpati idol makers in the city also faced a similiar problem due to the ongoing pandemic. Abhijit Sathe, an idol maker who set up an idol shop at sector 11 in Navi Mumbai's Belapur told The Free Press Journal that he has brought hardly 150 idols while he used to bring 400 to 500 idols. “Last year, I did not get a good response due to COVID 19 restrictions. I had to take back around 200 idols to my home in Pen taluka,” said Sathe. He added that there are few people turning up at his shops even for inquiry.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar earlier stated that the government has instructed Police officials to convince the local groups to cooperate with the government on the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
The sales have been affected for the second consecutive year| ANI
Addressing a press conference after the weekly COVID review meeting, Pawar said, "We have instructed our Police officials to talk with the local groups and to seek their cooperation for whatever decision the government takes." "Rules are the same for everyone. Cases are being registered wherever gatherings happen.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has appealed to all to avoid events where gatherings take place. Everybody should follow rules laid down by the government without bringing politics into it," he added.
