Sale of security systems declines in Surat

Surat, Aug 27 (UNI) Dealers of security products here said the sale of safety equipment, which had soared after the serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad and recovery of explosives here, has shown a downward trend as the people's interests to upgrade the security system had reduced.

Hitesh Mistry, dealer in security products, said the sales had dropped by more than 25 per cent to what they were two weeks ago.

This was because of high expenditure, lack of knowledge and interest among citizens to install and use such devices.

Sale of metal detectors was most affected and same is the condition of time attendance machine and burglar alarm system. The people here were more concerned for their security and had started to acquire security equipment like CCTV cameras, video security system&intercom, burglar's alarms for preventing any unwanted incident, he said.

Mr Mistry said with the arrest of terrorists, the fear prevalent among the citizens has also lowered, which is also one of the important reasons for saturation in sales. After their arrests, customers started making an excuse that cost of equipment was very high, while hiring of security guards is cheaper. Besides, they claimed such devices were not of much use as constant monitoring was not always possible.

Apart from the drop in sales, traders were facing another hindrance with the entry of sub-standard goods in the market, which was giving stiff competition. To save costs, people were purchasing equipment that have a very short life.

There are about 6-7 traders in the city, who deal with security systems, and most of them admit that Chinese products are now more in demand than equipment manufactured in India. Chinese goods are cheaper and have large variety due to which people are buying them.

Chinese metal detectors, time attendance system and burglar systems are gaining popularity due to low costs. These machines last for short period and are unable to work continuously, Pritesh Joshi, another dealer of security systems said.

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