Roads leading to jewellery shops in Jharkhand’s cities had none of the illuminations and hustle-bustle on Sunday normally associated with the Akshaya Tritiya festivities every year.

Amid the ongoing lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, jewellery shops stayed shut in Ranchi and Jamshedpur though the Centre recently gave permission to all states to decide whether to give partial relief and allow some shops to open after assessing ground realities.

So far, only shops selling essential items have stayed open during the lockdown. It was no different on Akshaya Tritiya day, considered auspicious by many to buy diamond, gold and silver.

Usually, the capital’s 500 big, medium and small jewellery shops do a business of over Rs 30 crore on this day.

On Sunday, owner of Tulsyan Jewellery Pvt Ltd on Ranchi Main Road, Pradeep Tulsyan, and also associated with the Congress, said they would all remember this Akshaya Tritiya when they had “no business”.

“I think by this evening (Sunday) or tomorrow (Monday), the state government will issue directives on non-essential shops. Even the directive of the central government regarding the opening of shops is not very clear,” said Tulsyan.

State finance minister Rameshwar Oraon said that DCs of districts had been asked to take a decision about the partial re-opening of shops selling non-essential items.

“DCs will have to decide as the situation may vary from district to district. Ranchi is a red zone because of the number of novel coronavirus cases, so everyone is concerned about social distancing. Even in the capital, the situation may vary from area to area. But overall, the state government will go with the decisions of the Centre on lockdown and partial opening of shops,” said the minister.

Ravi Kumar Pinku, president of the Ranchi Sona Chandi Vyavsayi Samiti, said that they had no instruction from the district administration ontheir shops. “Security and crowd management at shops are big concerns. We don’t have any problem if we suffered losses in business, because life is more important than money.”

Big brands are offering online purchases, advance bookings and discounts on digital platforms.

In Jamshedpur, the national Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ) brand started tele-calling customers around 10 days ago by offering a 50 per cent discount on making charges of gold jewellery, but officials said response was lukewarm at best.

“As soon as we get customer confirmations through their cellphone screenshots, we confirm the booking but most people like to see a piece of jewellery at the store, choose among many pieces, and then decide. So business is abysmally low,” said one of the officials of TBZ.

Sunil Verma, director of Kuldip Sons and Jewellers in Jamshedpur, admitted telecalling did not yield a good response. “People want to bring the gold home on this auspicious day and say booking it is not the same thing,” he said.

Small jewellers, however, are hit the hardest. Sachin Varman who runs a jewellery shop at Hatia said: “The virus is playing havoc.”

Normally avid gold buyers are staying away. Resident of Kanke Road in Ranchi, Sabita Mishra, said she bought gold every year on Akshaya Tritiya but not this time. “Saving one’s life and money is my priority now,” she said.

Family members offer puja at their home in Dhanbad on Sunday to celebrate Akshaya Tritiya