As the monsoon shower has started, giving people respite from the maddening summer heat, it is that time of a year when damaged umbrellas and rain coats demand immediate repair. The umbrella and raincoat sellers also seemed happy as monsoon rain has started since Tuesday as they hope their business will be good in the coming days.
At least a dozen of umbrella repairers of Kendrapada areas are found glued to their jobs repairing and mending hundreds of umbrellas of various sizes after the arrival of monsoon. "We repair umbrellas in rainy season as many people never keep umbrellas in safer places after the end of the rainy season", said Khalil Khan, an umbrella repairer of Kendrapada township area.
According to Khan, "We stock umbrella spokes of different sizes. Heavy winds and incessant rain will always damage the setup of an umbrella or rusting causes problems with the springs. People come with their umbrellas everyday for repair work. Even with sandals, people want a stitch to hold the strap together, especially because the adhesive washes off in the monsoon. The repair charges range from Rs 10 to Rs 50 depending on the mending."
An umbrella repairer earlier managed to earn Rs 300-Rs 400 daily in rainy season by sewing or mending umbrellas of difference sizes. But now the scenario has changed due to imported China-made umbrellas. As umbrella users prefer China-made cheaper umbrellas, they are not mending their old ones, thus hampering the business of the menders.
These China umbrellas are available in plain, two- fold and three-fold types. The umbrellas are cheaper compared to the Indian umbrellas and their ranges start from Rs 60 to Rs 200. Customers from the small villages are happy with the China-made fancy umbrellas as they are cheaper and attractive compared to local brands. The people are buying it on a use-and-throw basis. So people prefer to buy a new. This has affected our business, said a mender.
A variety of trendy monsoon accessories like umbrellas, raincoats and monsoon footwear are amongst the many things that have started ruling the streets. Raincoat prices are found between Rs 125 and Rs 1,500.
"People prefer to buy double-coated raincoats, safaris and school rain coats. So this year, I have stocked large varieties of raincoats and umbrellas hoping to do a good business in the monsoon," said Abdul Malique, proprietor of Kendrapada Emporium.