Residents look for Lakshmi-Ganesh idols at a makeshift stall near the Boring Road crossing on Saturday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Nov. 2: Dhanteras over, the markets were abuzz today with people buying idols of Ganesh and Lakshmi, rangoli colours and puja items and sweets.

Stalls near the Boring Road crossing were teeming with last-minute Diwali shoppers. “The price of Lakshmi-Ganesh idols, made of Plaster of Paris, ranges between Rs 150 and Rs 800. Though people are haggling a lot, the sale is almost similar to that of last year,” said Sanjay Goswami, a stall owner.

Silver idols of Lakshmi-Ganesh are selling like hotcakes. “The idols of Lakshmi-Ganesh are available in the range of 20gm-1kg with a respective price range of Rs 1,500-Rs 60,000. The sale of these idols this year is almost similar to that of last year,” said Vishal Gupta, the owner of Alka Jewellers on Boring Road.

The sweet shops were also abuzz a day before Diwali.

“The hot selling items are laddoo (Rs 340 per kg), sone papdi (Rs 340 per kg), kaju barfi (Rs 600 per kg) and chocolates. Everyone is buying 2kg of sweets on an average,” said Harsh Mankani, the owner of Sweet Home on Boring Road.

Artisans were busy giving final touches to the pandals.

“We have put up idols of Lakshmi, Saraswati and Ganesh. The pandal would be opened at 4pm on Sunday and the idols will be immersed on November 10,” said Prem Kumar, a member of Shiv Mandir Sri Sri Lakshmi Puja Samiti, Kadamkuan.

At home, residents are busy preparing the Diwali special menu.

“Apart from the main course, we are planning to make snacks such as paneer tikka, cutlet and pakodas. We would start the preparations from tonight,” said Arpita, a resident of Ashiana Nagar.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar and governor D.Y. Patil have greeted the people on the eve of Diwali.