Visakhapatnam: Pandemic casts a shadow on Diwali celebrations

Visakhapatnam: The Festival of Lights assumes a greater significance and people look forward to celebrating it with fervour.

After bitter experiences in 2014 when cyclone Hudhud wreaked havoc along the Visakhapatnam coast, lakhs of trees were uprooted and fell flat. Since it was riskier to burst crackers, the state government called for a muted Diwali celebration then.

Revellers volunteered to give up using crackers during Diwali, paving way for the lamp-laden celebrations.

Six years down the line, Vizagites are likely to witness a quiet Diwali again. With restrictions imposed on bursting crackers and the stress growing on the use of green crackers that too for only two hours, many avoid lighting crackers only to usher in a muted festival. "Our celebration should not be a cause of concern for others. Instead of adding to the Covid-19 blues and pollution level, we prefer to confine ourselves to decking up the house with lamps and flowers rather than bursting crackers which used to form a part of the revelry," says M. Rajini, an entrepreneur.

Since there are no firework stalls accessible in major localities such as Simhachalam, Pendurthi, Gopalapatnam, NAD, Kancharapalem, Malkapuram, not many look forward to visiting other places to procure crackers. "As we have two kids at home, we just want to invest in a set of sparklers rather than going out of the way to invest in fireworks like earlier," says P. Kishore Kumar, who works in a private firm.

While some of the traders try to sell firecrackers illegally in the city, the police, on the other hand, are acting tough against them.

In 2014, the port city witnessed a muted Diwali due to Hudhud. But in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic casts a shadow on the Festival of Lights.