Breaking all records, Lucknow this year spent Rs 2,100 crores on Dhanteras, and Diwali is yet to come.In 2014, Lucknowites had spent Rs 590 crores on this pre-Diwali festival, which means that spendin

Breaking all records, Lucknow this year spent Rs 2,100 crores on Dhanteras, and Diwali is yet to come.In 2014, Lucknowites had spent Rs 590 crores on this pre-Diwali festival, which means that spending has recorded a four-fold increase.

On Monday, the state capital recorded a sale of 21,000 four wheelers and two wheelers, estimated to cost Rs 650 crores, by midnight. This included a BMW that was sold for Rs 2.60 crores.

Gold worth Rs 20 crores and silver worth Rs 2 crores were also sold on Dhanteras. The highest single purchase was a branded diamond necklace that was bought for Rs 52 lakhs. Most of the shops sold out the entire stock of idols of Laxmi and Ganesh on Dhanteras.

In an interesting development, several gold and silver buyers bought jewellery on the condition that they did not want a receipt for their purchases since that would need their pan card numbers, which is now mandatory.

“The jeweller took a slightly extra charge and gave me the items without issuing a receipt. He is our family jeweller and we trust him. We bought this without a pan card entry only because we do not want the IT men behind us,” said a buyer at a reputed shop at Hazratganj.

The sale of utensils that had plummeted in the previous years came back with a bang and people spent over Rs 7 crores on utensils. Kitchen appliances, mainly induction cookers and mixers, accounted for Rs 30 crores while the sale of electronic goods, including LED TVs, music systems, washing machines, added up to Rs 180 crores.

A boom was also visible in the real estate markets as people spent Rs 1,200 crores in making bookings for new properties.

Sweets and dry fruits worth Rs 40 crores were sold on Dhanteras which is a record in itself.While businessmen seemed elated at the mood of the consumers and were happy at the consumer boom, a senior police official said that with the added burden of 21,000 vehicles on the roads, the traffic situation was likely to worsen.

“Whether it is driving on the roads or parking space, the situation in Lucknow is getting worse by the day. Reckless buying—which means buying vehicle when you actually do not need one—should be stopped,” said a senior police official.