Hyderabad: Kite sales go up ahead of the Sankranti festival in Hyderabad with vendors slogging to meet the demand.
Wholesale markets in the old city area, especially Begum Bazar and Gulzar Houz cited a public rush to buy kites and their accessories.
The traditional Patang (kite) shops displayed a variety of vibrant-coloured products for customers who buy them in bulk these days.
A vendor at Gulzar house, Amjad Ali while speaking to Siasat Daily said, “we are expecting the sales to reach their peak after January 12.”
He further complained that they are not allowed to keep their shops open post 12 am while those in Dhoolpet, the shops were set free to sell kites till 3 am in the early morning.
Another trader Mohammed Akbar claimed that the sales would boom once the schools and colleges shut down for the Sankranti vacation.
The business cited a heavy loss in the past three years in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, which gives an impression to the traders of expecting a boom in kite sales this year.
Many families residing in Dhoolpet make paper kites for a living, while a few varieties are imported from elsewhere.
The paper and bamboo sticks are provided by the traders to the craftsmen who make kites in their homes and deliver the finished product to the traders.
The traders further explained that Kites are usually named as per their design. So a kite with two egg-shaped papers affixed on it is ‘Anda Patang’ while a well-decorated kite is often called Dulhan Patang in the kite market.
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