Shopkeepers from Ludhiana city on Friday said that they are experiencing a slump in the sales of materials used for Holi celebrations due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The shopkeepers said that there is a widespread scare among people due to the increasing cases of coronavirus in India.
"This time the sales are down, some of it is because of coronavirus. Though there is nothing substantial, people are just afraid. They feel that Holi products come from China but colours never come from China. Besides that nothing has come from China this time due to Coronavirus scare," a shopkeeper Ranjit Singh told ANI.
Another shopkeeper said that in the wake of the outbreak of Coronavirus, the sales of the products have gone down by 20-30 per cent.
"Some of the politicians are asking people to not play Holi in the light of coronavirus and that will affect our business. Only 20-30 per cent business is left," said another shopkeeper Prince Malhotra.
Locals from the city, on the other hand, said that since there is less information about the spread and cause of the coronavirus, people are being cautious and are resorting to not celebrate the festival with much fervour.
"We are buying fewer colours and materials for Holi because of the coronavirus outbreak. So we are a little bit afraid because there is no clear information about the coronavirus. We will play but not as much as we used to play every year," said a customer, Manpreet Singh.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 which was first detected in China's Wuhan city has claimed over 3000 live globally.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)