Sale of fire crackers goes down by 50 % as city officials urge citizens to celebrate smoke free Diwali
A handful number of states in India are banning the fire crackers during Diwali to avoid pollution, which may cause problems to the discharged COVID patients. However, the fire cracker stall and shop owners have suffered the most during the festival as their sale has suffered a sudden drop by 50 % this year, as the Municipal bodies are voicing on celebrating smoke free Diwali.
Pune Pulse reached out to a few crackers shop and stall owners of PCMC to understand the sale status and the problems.
Yusuf Shaikh, who owns a shop with his brother at Vallabh Nagar said, “Last year, ten days before Diwali, we had a good sale, but this year, our stall is running low on sale. I can say that we have lost the business by almost 50 %. Not just us, but many regular stall owners have stepped back from setting up the stall this year, as a result Government is banning or asking people to avoid burning crackers to keep the pollution in check. “
Another stall owner, Samir Khaire, who used to generate a massive income from the sale of crackers, said, “People may still come to buy the crackers, but if the government and the corporation is urging them to celebrate cracker free diwali then it really impacts our business. Because, if we were told earlier about the recent announcement, we wouldn’t have purchased the stock of crackers. Now, we are in loss. “
Another shop owner voiced similar concern, Sagar Dhumal, who is planning to wrap up the stall as he is on the verge of returning the entire stock of material. “May still suffer loss but minimum,” says Sagar.
The shop owners have complained on the late announcement of either banning crackers or urging people to avoid pollution. Either of them has largely impacted the business of fire cracker stall owners.
Shravan Hardikar, Commissioner, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation on being asked about the business loss of fire cracker stalls, said, “Since the day one, we have been asking people to celebrate festivals in a low key manner, which itself was an indication of cracker free Diwali. However, we will urge the citizens but we may not restrict anyone from bursting crackers. People have to decide for themselves if pollution is worth the lives of the citizens during COVID and during the festival of lights and lamps.”
