The cash crunch triggered by demonetisation has not spared high-end businesses in Bhubaneswar. This sector has been reeling from dipping sales for the past month. Sandeep Mishra of The Telegraph gives you a low down on the slow down.

Car sales

Alluring offers, such as zero down payment scheme, attractive discounts and cashless transaction options, have failed to push sales up for the four-wheeler market in the city after the demonetisation decision of the central government. The sales manager of Maruti Suzuki agency Sky Motors, Pabitra Mohan Barik, said the sales were down because of the cash crunch despite their cars being the most affordable ones in the market. “Earlier, we were asking for at least Rs 1 lakh from customers towards down payment for our smallest car, but since there is a heavy cash crunch and not many people have withdrawal limits on the cards that are above Rs 1 lakh, they cannot pay the amount.  So, we have now started giving an option of zero down payments. People are coming to see the cars, but they are not buying one. They are fearful that if they buy a car now, they would have to give umpteen details to the government on the source of their income,” said Barik. He said their sales have been down by at least 40 per cent in the past month.

Theatres

Theatres, particularly single screens, have been wearing a deserted look over the past month. A city cinema hall manager, Jyotiranjan Biswal, said the seat capacity at his theatre was 826, while they were getting about 100 to 150 viewers per show. “The effect of demonetisation cannot be denied. But there are no good films running at the moment either. We will know the actual impact of demonetisation once a good film comes to the screen,” said Biswal. He also said it was getting difficult for them to give change to people who were coming to buy tickets worth Rs 100 with currency notes of Rs 2,000. The theatre plans to introduce card swiping and PayTM facilities for buying tickets.

Two-wheelers

Two-wheeler market is also not exempt from the note scrap slap. Sales of motorbikes are now down by at least 50 per cent. “We used to sell around 200 bikes till last month. This has come down to around 100 bikes in the past month. People do not have cash. They are unable to make payments in cash because of the withdrawal limit. These factors have resulted in plummeting sales figures. The situation may improve if the government provides enough cash and raise cash transaction limits,” said sales manager of a Yamaha showroom Gayadhar Swain. He said bookings were down and various offers, which otherwise sound exciting, were also failing to attract customers.

Hardware and fittings

The sales of hardware and home fittings are also down in Bhubaneswar. “Demonetisation has impacted construction activities. So, our sales are also down by about 50 per cent now. The cash crunch and withdrawal ceiling fixed by the banks are contributing to the dip in our sales. People are now focussing on their basic needs rather than going for a movie or building a house,” said Indrajeet Yadav, who owns a hardware and fittings showroom at Bapuji Nagar.

PICTURES BY ASHWINEE PATI