Markets come alive as Sankranthi buyers return

Festive buzz returned to markets in the city on Saturday as citizens spent the day buying goodies on the eve of Makar Sankranthi, the harvest festival.

The iconic KR Market was swarmed with people buying sugarcane, leafy vegetables and festive essentials. However, the high prices of groundnuts, avarekai and sweet potatoes kept buyers away.

Kavitha N, who visits KR Market during festivals, said she bought only one kg of groundnut, as against the usual 4 kg, because of the high price. One kilo of groundnut is selling for 120-140 while sweet potatoes had an asking price of Rs 50 to 60.

Venkatesh M, a festive-essentials merchant, said sales were good in the last two days. Sankranthi specialities Ellu bella, Sakkare Acchu and pulses were sold out on Friday, he said. “I had to buy them again for Saturday,” he added.

Junaid Ahmed, a vegetable seller, said the footfall on Saturday was higher than Friday. “A large number of people have been visiting the market for the past two days. There weren’t many last year due to Covid.” He, however, said the vegetable sales were moderate. Avarekai, a Sankranthi speciality, had few buyers because of the high price. One kilo is going for Rs 100 to 120.

While buyers were disappointed at the high prices, they were happy to celebrate the festival without Covid fears.

Krithi G, a buyer, said: “Even though we celebrated the festival last year, Covid fears made us take a step back from celebrating it in the traditional way. This year, it feels safer.”

A police officer posted in KR Market said more cops were deployed to manage traffic. She confirmed that the footfall was higher than last year.