NGT ban on coal mining has hit business, shopkeepers lament
SHILLONG: Shillong is gripped in festive fever as Churches, streets, houses and commercial establishments wear an illuminated look, eagerly awaiting the biggest festival of the State- Christmas.
Well lit Christmas Stars that can be seen hung almost anywhere and everywhere, singing of Christmas carols and visits by Santa Claus have added to the fervour of the celebrations as people flood the commercial areas of Khyndailad (Police Bazar) and Iewduh shopping for the festival.
However, if one goes by the word of a few shopkeepers, the recent NGT ban on coal mining has somehow taken its toll on the festival.
“Christmas marketing this year is on the low due to the recent imposition of ban on coal mining in Meghalaya,” said a cloth merchant.
Nana Mordani, owner of a cloth shop in Police Bazar also felt that the ban on coal has somehow affected business this time round. He, however, said that the sales have picked up in the last few days.
Meanwhile, some shopkeepers claimed that people who used to shop for Rs 40000-50000 during Christmas are now shopping for merely Rs 4000-5000.
Another businessman Bablu Haque, who owns shoe shops and restaurants in Police Bazar says that the business has not been up to the mark so far unlike previous years when customers flooded the shops this time round.
Shopkeepers are hoping that the business would pickup in the last few days.
However, despite all odds, the festive mood is still on and various eating outlets and cake shops are witnessing huge rush of customers anxiously waiting for December 25 when Shillong along with the entire world would celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Some shoppers, meanwhile, lamented that the prices of food and clothes shoot up during any festive season in Shillong.