Chennai buzzes with last-minute Deepavali shopping

Chennai: Chennai’s commercial hubs were packed with last-minute Deepavali shoppers on Friday, while thousands heading to their native places in the southern districts caused heavy traffic on key exit routes, particularly GST Road near Chengalpattu. T Nagar and other major shopping areas teemed with people buying clothes, firecrackers and sweets. Vendors called out festive offers, and public address systems urged shoppers to watch their children and safeguard their belongings and mobile phones. Shoppers had mixed views on prices and the range on offer.

“I came from Tiruchirappalli, and the festive atmosphere here is wonderful, with huge crowds,” said Mohamed Ali, a shopper in T Nagar, to PTI Videos. Srimathi, who came from Mandaveli with her family, said prices appeared to have risen across stores. Other shoppers echoed her, but said people were still buying essentials for the festival. Some were disappointed with what was on sale.

Priya, a Mogappair resident who had come to buy clothes for her children, left empty-handed. “The crowd feels slightly less compared to earlier, but the quality of clothes was disappointing this time, pushing us towards shopping malls instead,” she told PTI Videos. On the roads, private vehicles, omnibuses and state-run buses queued up for long stretches on GST Road near Chengalpattu.

About 1,500 police personnel have been deployed at key points along the highways and other bottlenecks to streamline outbound traffic. This year’s Deepavali falls on November 8.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Hans India