Chain-saw sales soar in Broadway as demand spikes

Hardware and tool shops that primarily sold construction materials earlier have now stocked up their both the branded and Chinese machines. “We have sold around 700 chain-saws in the last one week,” says Bajarang Goyal of Chennai Tools Corporation. 

“We are importers of these machines and the number is inclusive of retailers and the public. There are two kinds that are available in the market – electric and petrol-run. Since electricity is a problem now, people are going for those run on petrol,” he adds. These machines can cost anywhere between Rs 5,000 to Rs 75,000. “A tree on my backyard has fallen on my balcony. Though the balcony is cleared, we need to fix the tree and cut the branches. I came here to buy a basic model to fix things and had to spend Rs 5,000, which is the cheapest,” says Mohammed Shariq, a resident of Kilpauk. 

According to the businessmen on Broadway, the rush was more on weekends. “We have sold close to 2,000 machines in a matter of days. Our customers range from government and civic authority representatives to public. The civic officials prefer brands like Toshiba and Makita, which have a starting price of Rs 27,000. 

However, the general public are going for cheaper options. These are two stroke engines and will run for 45 minutes with half a litre of petrol. Oil needs to be mixed with petrol for it to run smoothly,” says Moiz S of R &T Construction and Industrial Hardware. 

“We think that the sales will only increase in the coming weeks. Since electric machines wont cost much in the longer run, we are hoping that their sales will increase in the coming weeks. Now people are cutting the branches and keeping it aside. But when the electricity is restored, they would need electric machines to cut them into smaller pieces,” he added.