Condom sales dip because of fewer dandiya nights

Cancellation of bashes due to swine flu scare affects business of medical stores by almost 50 per cent

It's that time of the year when people get out of their homes dressed in their colourful best and flaunt their dancing skills in the night. Dandiya nights during Navratri are not only known for their revelry but also for blind dating sessions among the youngsters.

This year, however, a large number of dandiya bashes in the city have been cancelled because of the swine flu scare and consequently, resulted in a substantial drop in the sale of condoms.

No show
Bhushan Bhandari, assistant manager, Pancards Club said, "It's been a bad year. We have scheduled our dandiya bash for Sunday, but we are not getting too many enquiries. While we got nearly 30 calls every hour last year, this year, we've only got one. We've received confirmation from only 40 per cent of the capacity crowd so far."

Many organisers have restricted the celebrations for only one day instead of nine because of the poor response. Residency Club that attracted nearly 1500 people last year have cancelled their event this year.

Disappointed
Chemists in the city are disappointed at the not-so-happening dandiya nights. According to Vijay Chageria, secretary, Chemist Association of Pune, sale of condoms and contraceptive pills has dipped by 50 per cent compared to last year. Sandip Rathi, caretaker, Medical House said, "Last year, our condom sales was up by
Rs 6,000, but this year, the sales have yet to pick up."

Ajay Khandelwal, owner, Ajay Medical at Dhole Patil Road explained, "The sale of condoms has gone down by 25 per cent for us. Last year, it was up by 10 per cent. But we cannot complain because almost all businesses have been affected because of swine flu."