MP traders fear dark Diwali as etailers, as floods affect business

Madhya Pradesh traders are staring at a dark Diwali, as etailers have deeply eaten into their business with their discount sales, which was already reeling under the impact of the floods, and now fearing at least 15% sales decline.

The floods which affected many parts of the state have caused major damages to the crops and the business is stagnant because the purchasing power of farmers has been adversely affected due to the floods, say traders.

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"Multinational e-commerce players have taken away over 15 percent of retail business of electronics, readymades, groceries and other items in the run-up to the festive days with their attractive offers," Devi Ahilya Chamber of Commerce president Ramesh Khandelwal told PTI on Wednesday.

Accusing the government of only talking about ending unhealthy price competition by e-commerce companies in the retail market, as in reality, nothing is happening in this direction. Ahead of Diwali, unseasonal rains are proving to be a big trouble for businessmen. According to traders, the bad weather has affected the festival demand across the city.

Meanwhile, the Met Department has said the current phase of light to moderate rains may continue till the next week in the Indore, Bhopal, Sagar, Hoshangabad and Jabalpur divisions. The Congress government in the state has estimated the damages from the floods at more than Rs 16,000 crore and has sought Rs 6,621 crore from the national disaster relief fund and another Rs 2,285.88 crore from the Centre to rebuild the damaged infrastructure. 

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