Diwali 2016: Cyclone fear dampens Diwali spirit

CUTTACK: Santosh Mohapatra, sitting in his cracker shop is glued to the TV to get latest update on the cyclone Kyant. The wholesaler has crackers galore but hardly any customers.
Mohapatra, who is into cracker wholesaling business for about a decade, claimed it is one of the worst years in terms of business. "The Diwali is just five days away and around this time every year, at least 50% of my stocks are sold out.But this year I have not managed to even sell 10%," said a worried Mohapatra.
Apart from the cyclone threat, the business is hit due to the new restrictions (like ban of China-made crackers, no licence without fire compliance, no shop in crowded areas and sound limit) imposed by commissionerate police, said another cracker businessman.
"Since morning, I have not received even a single customer. Due to restrictions, small cracker retailers (who can't invest on fire safety measures) from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar are not turning up. But what has affected us more is that after cyclone prediction we are not receiving customers form neighbouring districts also," said Tapan Sahoo, another cracker wholesaler in Nandi Sahi area.
Cuttack is a major wholesale market for crackers in the state. Retailers from districts like Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Dhenkanal throng Cuttack to procure varieties of crackers.
There is hardly any transaction in the entire stretch from Nandi Sahi to Jhola Sahi, the major cracker market, which remains abuzz with activities ahead of Diwali.
"I had procured crackers worth Rs 10 lakh from Sivakasi and Kolkata. But I have not managed to sell even 20% of the crackers so far. Retailers and small traders are wary because if cyclone strikes the crackers will turn damp and they will sustain huge losses," said Ashok Agarwal, a cracker trader. Even locals are in no mood to buy fire crackers, added Agarwal.
However, people have their own reason for not buying crackers. "What will I do with the crackers if I can't burst them on Diwali due to cyclone," said Saurabh Das, a college-goer.