IMPHAL, May 19 (TNN): "Buy a television set and get 10 litres of petrol free." Sounds bizarre? Not exactly if you are in Manipur where a dealer of electronic goods published such an advertisement in local dailies to cash in on the scarcity of petrol. Economic blockades by Nagas on national highways have been continuing for over a month. The Nagas have been protesting against Manipur's decision to prevent NSCN (IM) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah from visiting his ancestral village, Somdal, in Ukhrul district.
With the arterial supply routes blocked, Manipur has run out of petrol. It's only rare that a person gets a litre of petrol only after shelling out Rs 200 in the grey market. Amid this acute fuel scarcity, an Imphal-based electronic outlet dealer, L Sharat Singh, came up with the idea to increase sale of television sets, washing machines and refrigerators by luring customers with "free" petrol. The best medium, he felt, was newspaper ads. And the response was overwhelming — hundreds of customers were seen queuing up at his store. But, there's a catch. The customers have to wait for the "free" petrol till the highway blockades are lifted and the fuel is available at filling stations. "The footfall at the outlet has suddenly gone up," said Mahesh Wahengbam, a senior employee of the outlet.
Incidentally, this is not the first time that Sharat has come up with such an innovative marketing strategy. During the 52-day economic blockade on NH-39 (Imphal-Dimapur Road) and NH-53 (Imphal-Silchar Road), he had used the same strategy to rev up his sales. The aim behind such strategies, said Sharat, "is not only to attract customers, but also to send a message to the government for its failure to meet the basic demands of the state's people".
Manipur blockade ‘bonus’: Buy a TV, get petrol free
