Puducherry: Demonetisation dulls Santa spirits

Puducherry: With barely a week to go for Christmas, vendors with their assortment of Christmas decorations are reporting dull business due to the cash crunch caused by demonetisation of higher denomination notes. Though the retailers are out in full force with a wide variety of nativity sets and Christmas cribs in every size to tempt shoppers, the cash crunch has severely affected business. Street shop merchants near the Immaculate Cathedral on Mission street, the main Christmas market in Pondy, say that cash crunch dampened the festival spirit in this former French colony.

“Last year it was the one-month long rain which severely affected our business, and this year the demonetisation of notes. Money is not available either in banks or ATMs, so we cannot expect people to buy things”, says Ravi, who sells dolls made in clay for the Christmas crib. Michael, who runs a decoration store, says that this will affect the lives of people whose business mainly depends on the festival season like Christmas.

“I have been selling Christmas decorations for the past 30 years here. We used to get good business normally. But this year, though people are visiting the shops, they are hardly buying anything. We are facing huge losses,” he said. Apart from this non-availability of clay, and increasing rates are also affecting the business, says the retailers. Alina, who came to have a look at the Christmas market, says that she is not expecting a ‘merry Christmas’ this year.

“Being a French colony, Puducherry used to celebrate Christmas with gaiety and pomp. But the non-availability of money has affected the mood of celebration. “We are still in a confusion that how to overcome this cash crunch” she said. Many are hoping that business will pick up a bit by Christmas Eve.