BHUBANESWAR: Shoppers thronged the brightly-lit city streets on Monday to make purchases on Dhanteras _ an auspicious occasion to buy gold, utensils or household goods ahead of Diwali. Shoppers were seen queuing up at the markets to make last minute purchases.“The crowds are pouring in by the hour and the market is bursting at its seams,” said Mitesh Khimji, Director of Khimji Jewellers. He said, this time, sale of lightweight and silver articles have shot up, thanks to the rising gold prices. “Lightweight rings, pendants and chains were the most sought after. People today opted for smaller and light gold pieces apart from the regular gold coins that are considered a good investment option,” he said.As per market sources, in a bid to boost sales, the minimum weight of gold bangles has been brought down from 40 to 35 grams this year, while minimum weight of other small jewellery pieces were brought down from 12 to eight grams. This apart, around 40 per cent of the stock in outlets comprises lightweight pieces of jewellery, as compared to 20 per cent last year.However, many others felt there was not much growth in the overall sales as compared to the earlier years due to soaring gold prices.Ajith Hans, MD of Lalchand Jewellers, said consumers seem to have down-scaled their gold and silver purchase on this day. “The number of gold buyers on Monday was definitely less than what we got last year,” he said.
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