This Diwali saw a rise in sale of fire crackers in the City of Lakes.  What with the environment drive, green city moderation and a focus on pollution prevention - all these concepts went for a toss as over Rs 5 Crore worth of Fire Crackers were consumed in a single day on Diwali.

People of all ages participated in the celebrations of Diwali, with fire cracker sales going up against last year - even due to the fact that these crackers were priced higher than the previous years festive season.

Nearly 40 licensed shops were set up in the Luv Kush premises over the last few days preceding Diwali.  There was a mass buying spree with the area packed with shoppers.  Nearly a dozen licensed shops were also operational in the city, apart from many small unlicensed stores across Udaipur.

A fire works wholesaler from Udaipur said that the volume of sales has risen over the previous year and the craze is apparent among children.  Young people also bought alternative and new kinds of fire crackers to pump up the fiesta.  Though another wholesaler said that due to the high cost of fire crackers, he witnessed less volume.  Another fire works wholesaler in the walled city who also operates a retail outlet, explained that while the retail market witnessed an unprecedented buying spree inspite of the dull market situation, the buyers from upcountry were fewer in number.  The sales however did not exceed that of last year, he added.

However, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Dungarpur, Chittor, Pratapgarh, in all, accounted for sales crossing Rs 5 Crore this season.