Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Dec. 1: Residents of the twin cities are yet to feel the wintry chill. And this has affected the sale of woollen garments by the Tibetan refugees as well as the local traders this year.

The Tibetan traders, who have set up their stalls at the Saheed Nagar Durga Puja ground, said the sale had not yet picked up and they wished the chill to set in fast.

“Last year, I earned around Rs 10 lakh in two to three months. This year, the sale has not picked up yet. We hope the scene changes in December and January,” said Tsetan Bhuti, 30, a Tibetan refugee from Odisha, who lives in Dehradun after her marriage.

In Cuttack, so far the overall business by the Tibetan refugees stands at 30 per cent though a wide range of woollen garments are up for sale in various markets in the city.

The Tibetans refugees arrive in a large number around this time of the year to sell woollen clothes such as sweaters, gloves, stockings, rugs, mufflers, monkey-caps and shawls.

It is December, but the maximum and the minimum temperatures are hovering around 30 and 17 degrees Celsius.

“We are waiting for the business to pick up pace. We hope the temperature will fall in the coming days, and the people will throng our stores,” said Dhaneswar Patra, a local trader.

The refugees have an all-India union that procures the winter clothes for sale and provides these garments to these traders. They, accordingly, go to various places and sell them. The traders sell factory products as well as those procured from the weavers within their community.

A local union leader said many of their winter clothes were now available in big showrooms, but they sold them at a reasonable price. “We have a fixed rate and do not provide discounts. People love to buy stuff from us,” said the trader.

The cost of men’s leather jackets ranges between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,500 at any leading branded store in the city. However, the Tibetan refugees charge Rs 600 to Rs 1,600 for a similar product. Therefore, buyers love to purchase garments from them. Moreover, they believe that the refugees sell authentic woollen products.

The priceS of other winter garments are also very reasonable. Women’s jackets range between Rs 950 and 1,200. Similarly, sweaters range between Rs 300 and Rs 1,000 and party sweaters range between Rs 700 and Rs 1,000. Shawls are also sold here at Rs 210 to Rs 700. Most products for children do not cost more than Rs 500. The cost of baby caps, sweaters, socks, gloves range between Rs 60 and Rs 400.

Chinmayee Barik, a singer from Paradip, who had come to Bhubaneswar today, said she loved to buy stuff from the refugees. “I was in search of a pink headscarf, which I didn’t find in any big store. I found it in one of these small shops and it was very cheap,” said Barik.

This year, 30 Tibetan traders from across the country and the state have set up their stalls in Bhubaneswar. Over 50 families are engaged in the manufacturing of the woollen garments.

The number of traders pouring in Cuttack to sell special winter garments has increased in the past two years. Most of these Tibetan refugees are settled in Chandragiri, Mohana, Gajapati and Berhampur and every year they set up such stalls at various parts in the state during the winter months.

Besides, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, this year, they have set up stalls in Berhampur, Rourkela, Keonjhar, Baripada and other towns as well.

The stalls get crowded mostly in the evening. Some local traders have also set up similar stalls near the Tibetan refugee market and they, too, have complained of poor sale. However, unlike the Tibetan traders, buyers can bargain here. However, the garment showrooms are also facing a similar crisis due to the delay in onset of winter.