Har Ghar Tiranga: Tricolour sales skyrocket; wholesale traders struggling to keep up with demand
From August 13 to 15, the Central Government hopes to have at least 20 crore flags atop houses to mark 75 years of India's Independence.
FollowAs the celebrations for the Centre's 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign approach, the sale of tricolour in the national capital has skyrocketed, leaving traders and manufacturers scrambling to meet the pent-up demand.
A wholesale trader from Delhi's Sadar Bazaar, Gulshan Khurana (63), has been supplying national flags for over 50 years; however, he has never seen such a surge in demand for the tricolour.
Traders claim that the sale of all types of tricolours has increased by 50 times since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the campaign on July 22. However, demand for medium-sized and national satin flags is at an all-time high.
The Central Government hopes to have at least 20 crore flags atop houses from August 13 to 15 to celebrate 75 years of India's Independence.
Khurana was on vacation in the United States of America (USA) when he started receiving dozens of calls from buyers seeking large flags orders.
He explained, "I've been in this business for over 50 years since I was a child. But I've never seen such a huge demand for Indian flags. My phone never stops ringing." He added that he needed to rush back to finish the orders.
To meet the increased demand, Khurana is manufacturing only two sizes of tricolour or 'tiranga.'
"We are only producing two types of tricolours so that all resources can be used to make the flags with the highest demand," he said to PTI.
"We manufacture around 15 lakh flags daily, but the demand is much higher. Due to the shortage of flags in the country, orders are coming from all over India. People are gathering flags from wherever they can. We have just sent a lakh flag to Goa, despite working day and night," he said, they cannot meet the sky-high demands.
"Every day, I receive orders for a crore of flags. We were only able to complete a portion of it. We attempted to fulfil all orders, but it's difficult," he concluded.
Meanwhile, Anil, a flag manufacturer-cum trader, said he had transferred employees from his other manufacturing units to flag manufacturing.
"Our sales have increased drastically since the campaign's announcement. We are working extra hours and have transferred workers from one of my other manufacturing units to one that makes tricolour."
"The sales have multiplied 50 times. This was a sudden increase. We did not anticipate such an increase in demand. We anticipate that sales will rise further," he concluded.
(With inputs from PTI)
Also Read: Har Ghar Tiranga: Here is how you can buy the national flag from post office
Also Read: The Tiranga Quiz: How well do you know your national flag?
