Uncertainty over reopening of schools affects sales at shops in Mangaluru

MANGALURU: Even as schools are scheduled to reopen this week, shops selling books, stationery iteams and uniforms are not seeing much rush this year. Shopkeepers blame it on the cloud of uncertainty hanging over reopening of schools this week due to water scarcity in the region. The schools are scheduled to reopen for the new academic year on June 1.
D Sham Bhat of Vijaya Pen Mart, one of the oldest stationery shops in the city, says that the rush is not as usual. “The first reason could be the uncertainty over the reopening of schools this week due to water issues. So parents are going easy on back-to-school shopping. Secondly, the sales of stationery items and notebooks have decreased as private schools provide them to students. Thirdly, the steep increase in the price of stationery items has prevented parents from spending more on it,” he said.
“The paper item prices have increased more than 50% compared to last year. So are the prices of writing instruments,” says Bhat, adding that the state government should come up with a solution to reduce the 18% GST imposed on stationery items. “Some states have already reduced the GST on them. It will help the student community at large,” Bhat suggested.
Karthik Pai of Karthik School Books and Stationers said that the prices of notebooks have increased. The prices of pens and related accessories have increased by 10% due to a hike in plastic prices. “This year sales started only after the election results. Yet, there is not much rush,” Pai said.
Notebook prices shoot up
Though the price of notebooks, pens, and other stationery items has increased, the price of uniforms, school bags, and shoes has remained stagnant, except for umbrellas, says Punith Raval of Saurashtra Cloth Stores, situated in the central market. “The umbrella prices have seen a 10% to 15% hike. The prices of the rest of the items have remained the same like the previous year.”
Some of the parents shared that this year, schools that provide notebooks have increased their prices, ranging from Rs 700 to Rs 1,000.