Nainital, Dec 23 (ANI): With Christmas round the corner, local candle-makers in Nainital, Uttarakhand are facing tough competition from Chinese candles.
Some manufacturing units have been closed down after suffering huge losses.
Siraj who recently shut down his candle-making unit and opened a tea stall, said that the manufacturing cost of candles in India is equivalent to the sale cost of Chinese candles here.
"The main reason for closure of candle units is that a lot of items from China have come into the market. The rate at which these the Chinese items are being sold is the same at which the local manufacturer is buying the raw material. So one can imagine that when the manufacturer is unable to make any profit, he will have to shutdown his work," he said.
A candle manufacturer Sunil Virmani claimed that the customers buy the Chinese products given the beautiful designs, while being oblivious to its quality.
He further added that the state government should help the candle-makers by providing raw materials at subsidised rates.
"A lot of Chinese candles have come into the market and it is very difficult for a common person to identify the material being used for them. Though they look pretty, but our local candles are hand made and as far as the material is concerned they cannot match up to our standards. These (hand-made candles) can be exported but for that we require help from the government mainly the cost of the raw material should be brought down," said Virmani.
The handmade candle industry began in the city of Nanital in the early 1970's, but the number of candle making units has dwindled drastically from an erstwhile figure of 115 to as low as 20. (ANI)
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