Mayur Vihar: Poor sales this puja for stall owners
Welcome To CitySpidey

Location

Mayur Vihar: Poor sales this puja for stall owners

Stall owners say they’ve incurred losses due to low footfall and increased charges for putting up stalls.

Mayur Vihar: Poor sales this puja for stall owners The puja organised by the Milani Cultural and Social Welfare Association

Although the festive season is a time to rejoice, poor sales at food stalls and other kiosks set up for Durga Puja celebrations in Mayur Vihar have dampened quite a few spirits.

Stall owners say they incurred losses this year mainly due to low footfall and the high charges set by Durga Puja organising committees.

Devendra Pal, the owner of Food Plaza, a mobile food chain, told City Spidey that he had to pay Rs 25,000 to set up a stall for five days at the puja organised by Milani Cultural and Social Welfare Association in Mayur Vihar Phase I. This was organised at the DDA park between Fine Home Apartments and Supreme Enclave. “I have been setting up stall here for the past 20 years. We expect good business during Navratri, but in the past two or three years, the number of visitors has been falling. I paid Rs 5,000 per day, but got very few customers at my stall,” he said.

Mohammed Hamid, a businessman from Old Delhi who set up 10 food stalls in various Durga Puja pandals in Delhi, said, "I had more than 50 varieties of non-vegetarian food items at all of my stalls but barely managed to break even. Almost all managing committees increased their charges this year. The Milani puja initially demanded Rs 50,000 for 10 days, but later reduced the amount by Rs 10,000. It assured us that this year the number of visitors would increase, but that wasn't the case.”

Madhu Gupta, who set up a kiosk to sell Kashmiri shawls at East End Apartments in Mayur Vihar Phase I Extension, blamed poor sales on the trend to shop online. “In the age of e-commerce, people no longer want to shop from stalls. Of the 200 shawls I brought to my East End stall, only 30 were sold in eight days,” she said.

When City Spidey spoke to a few Durga Puja committees, they confirmed that charges for putting up stalls had been increased. “We have increased the charges after three years. Until last year, we were charging Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000 from food vendors and Rs 10,000-Rs 12,000 from other stall owners. Charges were also dependent on location of the stall. We charged more for setting up the stall right in front of the pandal,” said Nikhil Das, member of the Durga Puja organising committee in East End Apartments.