Most markets are missing the fervor of previous years, and markets selling Christmas decorations, trees and even Santa figurines are reporting a crash in business by over 50%, mostly owing to the pandemic.

Diwakar Sahoonja, proprietor of Dewsun in Sector 11, said that their business had taken a hit of over 50%. “We have Christmas trees going for as high as ?7,000, but they hardly have any takers. In earlier years, Santa hats would be sold the most, but most parties have been called off this year. People just stay at home so greeting card sales have also taken a plunge,” he said.

The Sector-20 market was seen decked with Christmas decorations with trees as high as 10 feet outside the shops, but as per the shopkeepers, not many people wanted to buy them. One of the shopkeepers here, Kunal Jindal, said that shopkeepers hadn’t purchased new stock for Christmas as they had already anticipated lower sales as was seen during Diwali.

Another shopkeeper, Vijay Goyal, said that in previous years, a lot of school children would throng the shops during Christmas, but most private schools were closed now. He added that shopkeepers had made an extra effort to get made in India products, but that had also not helped with sales.

Low-key celebrations in Sec 17

The celebrations at Sector-17 Plaza will be kept low-key. President of Business Promotion Council, Sector 17, Neeraj Bajaj said, “This year, no big installation had been made in the Plaza. Block-wise decorations have been done and some shopkeepers have put up decorations.” He added that the shopkeepers didn’t want markets to get crowded.

Meanwhile, at Elante Mall in Industrial Area, Phase 1, a 21-foot tall polar bear dressed as Santa had been installed to woo customers.

The public relations officer of the Chandigarh traffic police, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Charanjit Singh Virk, confirmed that the traffic police had issued specific instructions to personnel regarding the management of traffic in the major markets of the city on Thursday and Friday.

Markets covered include sectors 18, 19, 22, 34, and 35, along with Elante Mall. Virk said, “There will be at least four challaning officers present in each of these markets from 10am to 8pm to issue on the spot wrong parking challans. One towing vehicle per market will also be present.” Although dedicated nakas for drunken driving remain unlikely, anyone found to be drunk will be taken to the nearest hospital for a blood test and booked.

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