Ritchie Street, India's second largest electronics market, is a favourite haunt in Chennai for bargain hunters. The narrow streets, once crowded, look forlorn as only 50 per cent of shops are open and walk-ins have reduced.
Coronavirus pandemic shut down the market for two months, and when was business was picking up late June the country was in an anti-China mood. The market gets around 60 per cent of components and finished goods from that country.
Ritchie Street, which started in 1970, is a "grey market". Transactions without a bill or warranty are common, but yet the market accounts for