HUBBALLI: The decision of
chief minister B S Yediyurappa to ban
crackers during Diwali, in order to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, has proved to be a death blow for dealers and sellers of
firecrackers in Hubballi and other parts of North Karnataka, who were making arrangements to sell crackers.
Many dealers condemned the decision, and said that the CM should have taken a decision to ban crackers at least six months back, instead of at the last minute, when the Diwali festival is round the corner.
Vimal Talikoti, secretary, Hubballi-Dharwad Fire Dealers Association, told TOI that the sudden decision of the CM to ban the bursting of crackers has made them face uncertainty, and they expect to incur a huge loss due to the decision. “I have already purchased a huge quantity of crackers from Shivakasi worth over Rs15 lakh, to sell, by taking a loan. Now, I don’t know how to deal with this situation and clear my loan,” he said.
Deepak Akalwadi, who is into the firecrackers business since many years in Dharwad, said, “Each dealer has already paid Rs 17,000 to Rs18,000 to the HDMC to allow them to sell firecrackers in Kalabhavan, and they also paid Rs 5,000 to the fire department to get an NOC. “Most of us are entirely dependent on this business for our livelihood. As Covid cases were at their peak during the Ganesh festival, we remained silent when the government banned the sale of crackers. However, now that Covid cases are declining and the situation is almost normal, the government should allow us to sell crackers,” he added.
The government had issued a notification on October 14, permitting the sale of crackers by implementing certain guidelines. We were elated due to this, and completed all the formalities to do business during Diwali, but now the CM says that the sale of crackers will be banned during Diwali. “It is a big blow for us,” he said.
Prashanth Hebasur, who is also a dealer of firecrackers,said, “As we suffered a huge loss during the Ganesha festival, we were planning to make a profit during Diwali to settle our loan. However, this decision has put us in trouble,” he said.
There are more than 500 sellers and dealers of firecrackers in North Karnataka, and each of the smaller ones had invested a minimum of Rs 7- Rs 8 lakh, and big dealers invested Rs 40-Rs 50 lakh by placing bulk orders to buy crackers from factories. Once we placed an order by making a payment, those orders will not be cancelled by the factories in Shivakashi, so we are staring at a huge loss due to this ban. The government should allow us to sell crackers at least for a limited period of time during Diwali, said dealers.