Firecracker sales dip in Bathinda amid restrictions

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 5

Diwali remained a low-key affair in the city this year as not many people were seen bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets. The sale of firecrackers was also muted.

Firecracker sellers attributed the dip in sales to increased awareness among people on pollution, Covid, dengue and inflation. It is also learnt many people did not celebrate Diwali as Covid had claimed lives in a number of families in the second wave.

Diwali celebrations remained peaceful in the city as no major fire injury was reported. Vendors claimed the cost of firecrackers was also higher as compared to last year. Earlier, people used to purchase firecrackers worth Rs 20,000-25,000 and now, the upper limit stayed near Rs 5,000 only.

A Tribune team visited many areas in the city on the Diwali night and observed a mixed response as there were places where people hardly burst any firecrackers.

Vijay Kumar, a firecracker vendor, said instead of restricting bursting of firecrackers to a few hours or reducing the number of vends, the government should have made it compulsory for manufacturers to introduce only green-firecrackers. “We have been into this business for the past 20 years but have not seen such a poor sale. Earlier, people used to come and buy crackers in a huge quantity. Now, they don’t spend much on these,” he added.

Another vendor, Satish Kumar, said the sale had gone down by almost 50-60 per cent. “There is an increased awareness among people about saving the environment by bursting a lesser number of firecrackers. Majority of my customers bought only small crackers for their children,” he said.