Hyderabad: Ganesh immersion sinks weekend biz to bottom

Hyderabad: While the Ganesh Navratri concluded on a grand note, the weekend business took a nose dive in the city on account of Ganesh idol immersion on Sunday.

All liquor shops, bars and restaurants, big malls and other business establishments in most parts of the city remained closed and the loss is estimated to be nearly Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer.

Generally, liquor sales, eatery business and shopping malls witness good footfall on Sundays. If the government declares dry days occasionally, guzzlers stock enough liquor but this Sunday being Ganesh immersion day, many did not buy required stocks.

"Each liquor shop in the Greater Hyderabad limits reports not less than Rs 50 lakh business per day," a liquor trader averred.

Fast food centres mainly burger and pizza outlets and traditional food centres were closed along the routes where the procession was to take place. In the Cyberabad zone which contributes a big share of revenue in the form of shopping and recreation activities like weekend parties did not take place.

Officials said that the Commercial Taxes authorities conduct visits to the revenue generating malls, restaurants and hotels on the weekends to ascertain visitors' flow and revenue generation at the busy trade centres in Hyderabad and Hi-Tech city. This Sunday, officials suspended their visits as the business activity was almost nil.

The bustling Charminar zone, which is the hub of cloth and shoes, was completely closed to make the Ganesh idol procession a big success.