Making the math affordable for people, the Chamber has increased the prices of a kg each of chivda and laddoos to Rs 230 per kg. (File photo/Special arrangement)

Trucks laden with sacks of sugar, oil, pulses and curry leaves wind towards the office of the Poona Merchants Chamber in Marketyard. An army of workers waited on Friday to start preparing the quintessential Diwali delicacies, laddoos and chivda, thousands of kgs of these.

It has become a Diwali tradition for the Poona Merchants Chamber to prepare chivda and laddoos on scale to sell at no-profit rates, way below the MRP in retail outlets of the city. These packages of 1 kg or 500 gm of chivda and laddoos each are a boon for underprivileged families. They are popular with affluent households who trust the flavours and quality of ingredients.…