Manish Gajbhiye
Aurangabad, Jan 12:
The new year begins with Makar Sankranti festival. It is the festival of kite flying and eating sweets. The kite enthusiasts are always eagerly waiting for Makar Sankranti as it is a high-spirited occasion for them. The sweets lovers also enjoy this festival as they get various delicacies made of ‘Til’ and ‘Gur’.
However, there has been a severe impact on celebrations of various festivals due to the Covid crisis for the past two years. This year too there is a severe impact on the kite and sweet businesses. The businesses had gone down by around 50 per cent, informed the traders.
Kite flying on the playgrounds and terraces is the usual activity during this season. People gather in groups and enjoy the traditional kite flying activity. Considering Covid the advent of the third wave at the beginning of the new year, the district administration and the police department have issued prohibitory orders due to which people are not allowed to gather in groups. Hence, people are following all the guidelines while flying kites.
A kite maker Abdul Hameed said there has been a severe impact on the kite business for the past two years. Last year, it was somewhat satisfactory but this year the business has gone down by almost 50 per cent. He used to make around 300 hand-made kites during this festival season, but now as the demand had gone down, we make only 100 kites a day, he said.
Manali Bhalgaonkar, director of Maithili Gruhauddyog said, we provide various delicacies prepared from Til and Gur to the customers directly delivered to their homes. We prepare Til-Gur laddu, Wadi, Poli, and others. Last year, we provided around 100 kgs of delicacies but this year the demand is less and the business has come down by almost 50 percent. We follow all the Covid guidelines while preparing the delivering our products to the customers, she said.
Kites amounting Rs 2L sold during season
A kite wholesaler and retailer Rahul Rajput said during Makar Sankranti season we sell kites amounting to around Rs 2 lakh, but the business this year was hampered due to Covid restrictions. Still, people are coming and purchasing the kites and manja, but in small quantities. Around 2 to 3 years back, the Chinese kites of various shapes and sizes were in great demand but now the Indian traditional kites are preferred by the kite lovers, he said.