GUWAHATI: The sale of firecrackers in Fancy Bazar has not seen the light of the day due to license problems of the retailers.
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This comes amid the lack of clarity over guidelines regarding the bursting of firecrackers; fewer shops can be seen selling crackers in Fancy Bazar, the hub of the festival’s celebration products in Guwahati.
G Plus spoke to a firecracker retailer who stated, "Due to no license, we are not able to sell the crackers. A few people are still buying them from the backdoors but majorly we are not being able to sell it," said a retailer from MM Road, Fancy Bazar.
However, in the hub of firecracker retailing, sellers have never kept it that late for sale. Diwali Celebrations are slated to begin on 14th November in the state. Meanwhile, the permission is still on hold just one day ahead of the festival.
In Fancy Bazar, there are three categories of players who operate the business. The first are the wholesalers, the second are the primary retailers who procure from the wholesalers and the third who rent their shops during Diwali for the purpose of selling firecrackers.
As per sources, the wholesalers, who procure the materials from different parts of the country, have received the goods only this week. The delay in the delivery from Delhi's Sadar Bazar owing to the lockdown has been termed as the primary reason.
As such, none of the shops that sell firecrackers had a head start in opening their business. The shopkeepers also expressed lack of clarity regarding the status of the firecracker ban.
The shops which had been given on rent for firecracker sale face further losses due to their inability to sell firecrackers. “We sell normal hardware and utensils. Every Diwali, we rent our shop to sell firecrackers. This year routinely we gave the shop on rent. But now they are neither being able to sell crackers nor are we able to do our normal business,” said Jogesh Das, who operates a hardware shop on MM Road.
With the state health minister’s tweet contradicting the aforementioned direction towards regulations set by the Pollution Control Board, confusion prevails over whether firecrackers are allowed or banned in Guwahati as well as the entire state of Assam.
Sources close to the deputy commissioner's office has revealed that a planned SOP was prepared for Diwali but the PCB and the statements by the minister have dissuaded the office from releasing any guidelines.
Meanwhile, in all of this ambiguity, the business of Fancy Bazar has been affected.
