The unseasonal rains have resulted in an unusually cool April this year. If the spell of pleasant weather has made common people happy there are many like one selling cold drinks, ice creams, coolers and air conditioners who are deeply upset. And the reason for their worry is that they are losing business with sales of their products yet to pick up.
SK Behl, owner of Behl agencies located on Rajpur road, informed this correspondent that the sales are down by up to fifty per cent from last year.
RS Gusain, in-charge of Gaylord emporium located at Rajpur road, said despite discounts and good finance facilities, customers are not visiting the shop.
He said in Dehradun the summer season is usually of short duration and it appears that this year it might not even arrive.
Babita Kumari, owner of Food Point a shop located near Gandhi Park, said the sales of cold drinks and ice creams are almost nil this year. Also, the swine flu scare is keeping people away from ice creams and soft beverages, she said.
Roadside vendors selling fruit juices and cold drinks are also worried with few people visiting them.
Ram Kumar, a vendor selling fruit juices near Rispana Bridge, said this year the sales are low.
“In the last summer season I used to earn `500-700 per day but this year I have been unable to earn more than `200 a day,” he said.
Interestingly, the delayed onset of summers is having its bearing on the sales of summer clothing like shorts and T shirts.
Manoj Kumar, owner of a small shop selling clothes near Clock Tower, said the sales of T shirts are yet to pick up.