Navi Mumbai: To enjoy firecrackers this Diwali in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai areas, revellers need to shell out more money since the prices of firecrackers have gone up by at least 40 percent in comparison to the pre-covid period.
There is great enthusiasm among citizens to celebrate the Diwali festival as there are no COVID restrictions now. As firecrackers are an important part of the celebrations, a large number of stalls selling varieties of firecrackers are set up across the city.
Number of buyers lesser then sellers
However, there is a significant disparity in the number of buyers and sellers. The traders and sellers have said that the prices have increased as there has been almost no business for the last two years. Apart from that, the ban on various types of crackers and, most importantly, the increase in the price of chemicals and transportation costs have impacted the overall rates.
"This year also, the number of sellers is higher than the number of buyers," said Pritam Patil, a seller at APMC market. He added that crackers are generally manufactured at Shiva Kashi in Tamil Nadu. The logistics cost of carrying the fire crackers from there is always higher in comparison to last year. Due to this, the prices are really skyrocketing this year.
This year, the sellers from Wada, Thane, Bhiwandi, and Masjid Bandar have set up their stalls in Navi Mumbai, Kharghar, and Panvel.
