Karva Chauth shoppers faced with hike in prices

With a day to go for the festival of Karva Chauth, the markets were buzzing with last-minute shoppers, mostly comprising of working women.

Rehri market at Sector 19 and Shastri market at Sector 22 were crowded for almost the entire day leading to parking issues with shopkeepers escalating the prices to the maximum on this day. "I especially asked my brother to accompany me to the market during the lunch hour so I could buy the pooja essentials and put henna. However, we weren't the only ones as it took us too long to reach Sector 19 market," says Jyoti, who works at PGIMER, and had to be content with applying henna only on one hand as she ran out of time in reaching office.

Well aware that the visitors are the maximum on Karva Chauth eve, the squatters outnumbered the shops, hindering the traffic mobility. Sunita, a housewife at Manimajra, had especially traveled to Sector 22 to apply henna. "I have not professionally learnt henna application but do it as a hobby. I come on this day every year to the market, because it is sure to get business," says Sunita, who is charging Rs 100 for application on one hand that she says will escalate till Rs 500 towards the night.

With the increased demand on the last day, last-minute shoppers have had to pay the price for the delay, as prices for pooja offerings have also been upped by the shopkeepers. Gaurav and Bharti, both IT professionals and a newly-weds, postponed their shopping till the eleventh hour. "We had planned to shop at night, after the office hours, and on the day of the fast, I am just going to relax at home. However, going by the escalated prices, we have now decided to stick to bare essentials and keep it simple," says Bharti, shopping at the Sector 35 market.

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