Chinese phanush outsell Indian counterpart

MP, 22 October 2017, Kolkata: Chinese sky lanterns popularly known as phanush that sold like hot cakes at the bazi bazaars across the city and its suburbs have left its Indian counterpart much behind in the rat race of Kali Puja and Diwali. The seven bazi bazars have seen a phenomenal sale of the Chinese phanush with nearly 1 crore pieces being sold while the Indian iteration sold a meagre 500. 

"The Chinese stuff sold mainly because of their low price that ranged from Rs 20-25. The Indian variety is priced at a range of more of Rs 60 to Rs 300. The Indian variety is made of paper and during production a lot of paper is wasted as it gets torn. This increases the production cost. The Chinese stuff is made of some waste materials and the production cost is hardly Rs 5," Babla Roy, chairman of All Bengal Fire Cracker Committee said. The Chinese Phanush had sneaked into the bazaars and all our efforts to stop its entry have proved futile. We had stopped all Chinese firecrackers but have failed miserably in the case of Phanush," Roy added.

The five bazi bazaars in the city are held at Shahid Minar Maidan, Tala, Tollygunge, Behala and Lake Town while the two in the districts are at Belur in Howrah and Habra in North 24 Parganas. The total sale of firecrackers in the seven bazi bazaars are 3,000 tonne and in Kolkata, the amount is more than 1,500 tonne. Rain played spoilsport and the day of the Kali Puja on November 19 registered only 200 tonne sale. 

Phanush, to Kolkata, is not just a trend as it has been there for a long time. It is one of the institutions that have always upheld in Bhola Nath Dham on Beadon Street. It is not uncommon for residents of this house to congregate in numbers and help each other in creating intricate phanush. Our correspondent

(Source & Courtesy: http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/chinese-phanush-outsell-indian-counterpart-267539)