Team Herald
MAPUSA: Rains played havoc for the past few days, hampering not just retailers and traders but also families looking forward to their Diwali shopping.
On the eve of Diwali, people from Mapusa and neighboring villages made a beeline to the Mapusa market for the last minute shopping. Considering the long weekend, most of the people preferred to go about with their Diwali shopping at the last moment this time due to the havoc wreaked by the winds and rain in Goa.
On Saturday, after three days of continuous rainfall, a clear sky for a brief moment prompted last-minute shoppers to make a beeline for shopping in the town.
Heavy traffic jam was experienced on Saturday with shopping crowds flocking to Mapusa market and commercial areas.
Expecting brisk business, a large number of seasonal ready-made garment traders and others were seen selling decoration and diyas. Many stalls were set up on the pavements, but the traders had their fingers crossed in view of the rains that lashed the State over the last one week.
A Verla-Canca resident Runal Ghode, who was going about with his last minute shopping, said that the traffic situation was worst on Saturday. “Due to the extended weekend many people were out shopping for Diwali. Even the traffic cops stationed at several places were finding it difficult to handle the traffic situation,” he said.
An employee at a sweet-mart at Mapusa said that they also felt the pinch of low footfall this year. “The rains have made this season difficult for many of our regular customers. Today with almost no rain, we saw people coming in to our shop to buy sweets. Another problem nowadays is that several people are comparing rates with online options so we have placed fairly priced our sweets,” he said.
