BELAGAVI
With Diwali round the corner and beginning of the wedding season, Goans have started flocking the market, stores and showrooms in Belagavi since Saturday.
Also adding to the cheer among the business community was the huge decline of Covid cases in Belagavi, with as just about 450 positive cases remain in entire Belagavi district on Monday.
The market, stores and showrooms in Belagavi have bounced back with large number of Goans making a beeline to Belagavi since last Saturday.
Traders and showroom owners have expressed satisfaction with this development stating that they are overjoyed to see the sudden rise in the number of Goans visiting the city, after a long wait of about eight months.
Many Goans families were seen in the main city markets like Khade Bazaar, Shahapur and other localities, shopping merrily for the forthcoming Diwali festival and also the wedding season which is round the corner.
The showroom owners have also maintained sanitisation measures and temperatures of every customer is checked before entering the showroom. Wearing of mask has been made mandatory while entering the showrooms.
“Our market largely depends on Goans. It was certainly a long and rather painful wait for us and business was affected very badly and we were going through tough times,” Parmanand Gulabani, partner of the Ambica Cloth Stores, Shahapur told The Goan.
“However, since last weekend, there is a sudden rise in the number of Goans visiting the city. What looked like a rather hopeless situation till last week has now turned to be a hopeful situation,” he added.
Ramesh Dhongadi, owner of another famous showroom ‘Rainbow Sarees’ in Khade Bazaar, said traders have been overjoyed with the arrival of Goans.
“Over the months, we were desperately waiting for the state borders to open and Goans to arrive. Finally, they have started arriving. We have been offering them the cordial welcome and rendering best of the service. The arrival of Goan customers is heartening,” said Dhongadi.
A Goan family said they too were overjoyed to visit Belagavi market after a long gap and that they are being received well in Belagavi market.
