Coronavirus in India: Covid-19 curbs to hit Holi shopping

Coronavirus in India: With less than a fortnight left for Holi, the traders here in Uttar Pradesh are finding themselves in an unpleasant situation -- one that could cast a shadow on the celebrations.

With the Coronavirus scare and the curbs on imports from China, the toy industry is facing a crunch since water pistols, in various shapes and sizes, were being imported from China for Holi.

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"Since the past one decade, indigenously made Pichkaris (water pistols) have gone out of fashion and the Chinese water guns and colour bombs were largely sold in the market. Apart from being highly attractive, these water guns are preferred by children because they are easy to refill and use. The colour bombs are also very popular. They are cheaper than the ones made in India," said Mithilesh Yadav, a local trader.

Pawan Manocha, the president of Lucknow Traders` Association, said that the shortage of new products was also expected to push up prices of existing stocks by 30-40 per cent this year.

"We will have to make do with the existing stocks because new stocks will possibly come after three months due to the Covid-19 curbs," he said.

Other traders said that the Holi shopping was also expected to take a beating due to curbs on China since imports of electronic gadgets, smartphone accessories, memory cards, LEDs, AC compressors, washing machine motors have also been stalled because they are imported from China.