Gold shops in Vizag glitter as wedding bells ring louder

Tempted by raining ‘Sravanam’ offers from jewellery shops, gold-crazy women in Visakhapatnam are on a buying spree, adding more yellow metal to their already existing collection. Apart from the auspicious Sravana masam, the ongoing wedding season adds to the demand for precious ornaments.

With wedding bells ringing louder and ‘Sravanam’ fervour at its peak, jewellery shops glitter making a brisk business. Shops are seen crowded with women (the number of men is negligible) who pick their choice either for the wedding or for the Sravana Masam collection.

To make the hay while the sun shines, the traders in Visakhapatnam have announced a slew of ‘Sravanam’ offers on jewellery to woo customers. While some shops have offered cuts in GST, some others lure customers with zero making charges. A leading jewellery shop in the city offers Rs 250 cash back on every purchase. A recently opened jewellery store offered gold at Rs 6,153 per gram, while the market rate was Rs 6,554 on 14 August.

While many shops collect over 5 per cent as a dyeing charge on a gold coin, one shop at Asilmetta charges only 1 per cent for it.

Despite fluctuations in the gold rate, shops have been seeing a rise in footfalls since the announcement of a customs duty cut on gold imports in the budget last month. The gold rate, which was over Rs 72,000 per 10 grams before the budget dropped to around Rs 69,000 per 10 grams after a cut in duty.

The big relief in rate has made people buy ornaments and stock them for future needs.

Meanwhile, markets in the city were abuzz with activity as people thronged them to purchase puja material for ‘Varalakshmi Vratam’. On the day, women, wearing a bright-looking saree and sporting loads of ornaments around their necks, seek the blessings of ‘Lakshmi Devi’ for prosperity.

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This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu