Chandigarh, Oct. 17 -- Since Tuesday, when the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) gave permission to shopkeepers to set up stalls outside their shops, festive fervour has returned to the city's markets as both shoppers and shopkeepers gear up for Diwali.

At the electric lights market in Sector 18, tacky colours are out and neutral LED bulbs with warm tones are in vogue. "People these days prefer warm-toned large LED bulbs which are neither fully white nor yellow," said Rajvinder Singh of Punjab Electronics. Such lights are more expensive but still see high demand. Singh added that customers no longer prioritise quality as much, which is why copper-wired lights, though superior, are increasingly being replaced by cheaper aluminium-wire...