People buy food items prior to Id in Motihari on Monday. Picture by Ajit Kumar Verma

Motihari/Patna, Aug. 29: Festive fever has gripped the district headquarters with Id and Teej scheduled on the same day — August 31.

While shopkeepers are enjoying a boost in sale of items essential for both festivals, residents are upbeat about the celebrations they have planned.

Teej would be celebrated on coming Wednesday, according to the Vedic calendar. The date of Id might change though, depending on the sighting of the moon.

Sources said many traders in town have had to hire extra hands to keep up with the demands of the customers, who have started pouring into the markets since early morning. Demands of a number of goods have also shot up.

Along with the demand, prices, too, have soared. Rajkumari Devi, a homemaker, said: “Prices of edible goods have gone up alarmingly.”

“Many traders are hoarding goods in view of the rise in demand during the festive season that starts with Id and Teej,” said another citizen.

Consumers, however, have not been discouraged by the rise in cost. They are thronging the shops to buy a variety of goods like clothes, cosmetics, fruits, milk products and dry fruits. Bangles and vermilion, used by women who perform Teej, are also in demand. The want for skullcaps as well as ittar (perfume) that many people use during Id has also gone north.

At many shops, customers are obliged to stand in queues for a long time to get the goods they need. The serpentine queues, however, have only increased in length. Angoor Khan, the owner of a cosmetic shop at Haseena Chowk, said: “The prices are high but the crowds have continued to soar. Enthusiastic buyers are in no mood to compromise with revelry.”

There is, however, a slight warning for the buyers. Ashok Kumar Grover, a confectionary dealer, said the inflow of contaminated goods had also increased with the rise in prices of milk products. So, buyers would be well advised to check what they were purchasing.

Residents of the state capital are also gearing up to celebrate the age-old Teej festival. However, the hike in prices of goods has forced many of them to tailor their plans for the festival accordingly.

Vibha Pahari, a member of Inner Wheel Club who has observed fasts on the festival for the past 17 years, said: “We fast every year with the same enthusiasm. This year, too, we shall celebrate the festival. I have bought a new sari, jewellery, bangles and bindi that are symbols of a Hindu married woman.”

She added that as prices of commodities essential for the festival, like pure ghee and fruits, have doubled, she would use less of these this year.

Homemaker Bhavya is also of the same opinion. “Price hike has compelled us to cut down on the festivities a little this year. Unlike previous years, when I used to get 5kg apples, this year I’ll buy only 3kg. Last year apples were priced at Rs 80 a kg. This year, it has gone up to Rs 120 a kg.”

Ashraf, a fruit seller at New Market, said: “As Id is also scheduled for this week, the prices of commodities have shot up.”