Women buy jewellery on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya in Patna on Friday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, May 6: Jewellery shops were the busiest centres in the state capital today, as residents, in hordes, rushed to markets to buy jewellery on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya.

Earrings, gold chains were most in demand. The shop owners opened jewellery shops early in the morning and the rush continued till late in the evening. For many it was tradition they were following, buying new jewellery.

Vibha, an executive member of Inner Wheel Club of Patna, told The Telegraph: “Every year, my friends keep discussing what they have bought on Akshay Tritiya. I could not ignore the occasion. I was planning to buy a mangalsutra for long and I have finally ordered one today. I consider this day very auspicious. There is a trust factor. Buying some jewellery on the occasion has become a trend.”

Preeti Agarwal, customer at a jewellery shop, said: “Akshay Tritiya is what I have been waiting for quite some time. I bought a gold jewellery set on Friday. It’s so attractive and heavy it can be worn during marriages and parties.” Even the high rates did not deter the customers from buying their favourite jewellery.

Sarika, who bought a couple of golden jewellery sets, said: “Yes, the cost of gold jewellery is going up but that does not mean, we will stop buying them, especially on such occasions.” Shopkeepers had every reason to be cheerful. They had come up with attractive offers, that helped them further boost the business on the day. At many shops, employees could not even go for lunch, owing to the huge rush. Suddenly, customers demanding cheaper jewellery became little less important. Gold coins were also in high demand. Their rates were between Rs 11,000 and Rs 2 lakh.

Manish Gupta of Alankar Jewellers said: “There was a 70 per cent increase in sales. Fancy ornaments and necklaces were in demand.”

The banks also used the opportunity to come up with attractive discounts on gold coins. The country’s largest lender — State Bank of India — which came up with gold coins of 2gm, 4gm, 5gm, 8gm, 10gm and 20gm, has sold around 3.5kg of gold in Patna alone. Similarly, Bank of India sold 2kg of gold in the state capital.

“We are giving 1.5 per cent discount on every purchase of gold coins of 2gm, 4gm, 8gm on the prevailing rate. One per cent discount will be available on 5gm, 10gm and 20gm. These are pure 24 carat gold,” SBI nodal officer (gold banking) Sanjay Kumar said.

Sharad Keshri of Hira Panna Jewellers said: “We had good business today. We are offering customers lucky coupons.”