Last year it was Corona, this year election; Shopkeepers worrying another bad Holi

The outbreak of Coronavirus which has led to a global pandemic has left business owners in deep trouble. In Silchar’s Janiganj and Fatak Bazar area, stalls are selling Holi colours and several other items related to the festival. Just a couple of days to go, yet, most of the stalls are empty waiting for customers. Most of them are yet to recover from the damage of 2020.

These business hubs of Silchar witness high demand during Eid, Durga Puja, Kali Puja and other festivals. Since March 2020, the festivals were kept low-key. March 2021, the country is witnessing another spike in the number of COVID cases and there are more than 60,000 testing positive daily.

“We expected Holi to be a grand event this year. But the response so far has been poor,” said a shopkeeper who installed his stall yesterday. But he was quick to put a caveat, “This is not happening due the coronavirus. People in Silchar don’t even bother to wear masks,” the shopkeeper added.

As they stand near the road in Janiganj, tuktuks equipped with multiple loudspeakers pass them one by one. All of them play parodies of popular Bangla songs while campaigning for candidates. It is the election time in Assam. All 15 constituencies of Barak Valley go for poll on April 1, 2021. Star campaigners are raising slogans for their respective candidates and it is a different kind of festival.

“Yes, we think it is due to the election, the response is poor this time,” said the owner of a store in Fatak Bazar. “Despite the Corona-scare, people bought colours and played holi last year. This year, in our estimate, should be better than 2020,” he added.

Himanta Biswa Sarma is in Barak Valley and expected to spend the night at Silchar. Congress’ Sachin Pilot will spend the Sunday on road shows campaigning for Silchar candidate, Tamal Kanti Banik. In such a scenario, Holi is not a priority for anyone at this stage.

“We are not losing hope,” says a senior salesman. “This year it is going to be a last-moment rush. People are now busy with elections but this year, Silchar will play Holi and it will be a grand Holi,” he added.

Also, most households have colour left from previous year’s Holi, so there is no rush to buy early is what most shopkeepers believe.

Overall, they have hope that amidst all the high decibel “Khela” there will be some Rong Khela too.