Fancy candles, LED chains, sky lanterns and traditional diyas have lit up Burrabazar and Chandni Chowk in the run-up to Diwali.

The central business district was buzzing with Diwali shoppers for most of Sunday.

The heavy rain triggered by Cyclone Dana hampered business ahead of the festival of lights. Traders selling LED chains, fancy candles and lanterns, mostly of Chinese origin, hope to make the most of the few days before Diwali.

Brothers Akash and Subhash Sonkar sell vegetables for the rest of the year. For a fortnight in the run-up to Diwali, they sell diyas near the Satyanarayan Park AC Market in Burrabazar.

“The heavy rain disrupted our supply chain. We could not stock up as much as we usually do. We could not do any business on Thursday and Friday,” said Akash.

“Saturday saw good numbers. Sunday is even better,” he said.

Gulshan Singh, another diya seller, echoed him. “The bulk of our customers come from districts. They could not come because of the rain. We are banking on the remaining days for some profit,” he said.

Avneet Singh, 28, a resident of Howrah, came with his family to buy diyas at Burrabazar.

“I work in a private firm. It is impossible to come here except on weekends. We come here every year to buy diyas,” Singh said.

Around 2km away, Ezra Street was crowded. too. Scores of stalls on both sides of the road sold LED chains, sky lanterns and other Diwali items.

“Sales are very good. The cyclone only had a brief impact,” said Sanjiv Agarwal, a seller. “This year portable and power-saving LED lights are in demand.

Shelly Sarkar, 34, a resident of Garia, bought around 10 items from Agarwal. “I bought some LED candles instead of normal candles,” she said.

A trader at Chandni Chowk, who has been selling Diwali lights for more than two decades, said diyas with miniature LED lights are gradually phasing out earthen diyas with a wick.

This year, of the 1,500 diyas he has sourced, less than 100 have wicks. The rest came fitted with miniature LED lights.