Guwahati, Oct 24: Inclement weather has affected retail sales of Diwali firecrackers across Assam with rain keeping many customers away from the markets.
As it is, make-shift retail firecracker stores are generally set up across the nook and cranny of the cities and towns of the state, but light/moderate rain since Monday morning here has taken a toll on sales to an extent.
“Retail sales have been affected since this morning, which has hit our business hard. As it is, the wholesale rates have increased by about 45 percent while there has been a 25 percent increase in retail rates. So, with the weather forecast not good for tomorrow as well, sales will be affected on both the days (today being Kali Puja and tomorrow Diwali,” Pulakesh Deka, a trader in the Narengi area here said.
He further said that with the government’s directive for a ‘green’ (eco-friendly) Diwali, traders have been allowed to sell only ‘green’ crackers approved by CSIR-NEERI (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute.
“Police teams make surprise visits to check our trade licences and also ensure that only the approved eco-friendly crackers are sold. As such, compared to the pre-COVID years, the stocks too have been limited,” Deka said.
Assam’s firecracker hub, Barpeta, which was hit by the pandemic in the past couple of years, has seen some improvement in the situation even as the rain has dampened last-minute sales.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Ritamani Bharali, proprietor of Manoranjan Fireworks at Brindabanhati in Barpeta town, says, “While the situation has improved post-COVID with orders coming from across the state over the past weeks, the weather has played spoilsport in regard to our retail business which has been hit somewhat with only 30 percent of stock being sold locally.”
“I had revived the business somewhat since my husband’s demise a couple of years back. Our firecrackers are hand-made and we make relatively less crackers in our units compared to the rest. So, while there is no compromise made with quality, our stocks are costlier than the ones that come from Tamil Nadu,” she says, hoping for good weather on Tuesday.
However, the Met office forecast for Tuesday as well is likely to dampen the festive spirits further.
“Light to moderate rainfall at most places with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over the region on October 25 and isolated heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, northeast Assam and Nagaland on October 26,” said a special bulletin issued by the Regional Meteorological Centre here.