Rajahmundry: The sharp rise in cost of living and the income sources not being on par with the expenditure is said to have forced many to opt for saving methods to bring down the costs to some extent in the present festival season.
It is a known fact that Sankranti festival is very auspicious to Telugu people irrespective of caste and creed. A majority of the families opt for new clothes for the entire family, especially for children and youth.
But the escalated cost of cloth as well as stitching charges in the last couple of years is said to have forced many to cut down the expenditure to purchase cloth and go for stitching and instead opt for ready-made clothing, particularly by the lower middle class people.
According to sources, the tailors are charging Rs 400 to Rs 450 to stitch a pair of clothes. For the cost of cloth, another Rs 500 to Rs 600 is required which makes the costs exceeding Rs 1,000. This sharp rise forced many to opt for readymade garments of some companies, especially from Kolkata and Mumbai. For this, one has to spend Rs 600 to Rs 700. However, those who opt for brands will have to spend more.
In this aspect, the traders who opt for open sale of readymade garments at local markets come to the rescue of these sections by offering Jeans and shirts with a price tag of Rs 450 to Rs 500 and below this for children. Readymade clothes trader Md.
Hussan said that they opt for purchase of the stitched clothes from Kolkata and Hyderabad from traders in bulk quantities. “We also opt for purchase of cloth from mills directly and from auctions at places like Surat and get them stitched on contract basis. By adopting this mode we are in a position to offer the stitched clothes at relatively cheaper prices,” he said.
Tailor S. Vijay said that increasing competition forced some of them in this profession to opt for employment as dress designers and alteration of dresses to size of the customer to make a living in ready-made shops.
Pawn shop owner Satyamsetty Ramesh said that because of sharp rise in stitching he had to opt for readymade garments for his family.
