Guwahati: Holi, the festival of colours has been hit by Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) as people are scared to celebrate the festival in Guwahati.
Every year, Guwahati enjoys the festival with great fervor and with much reverence, organising rain dance, Holi parties and much more.
But this year, the scenario has completely changed and only a few people have come out in the streets to celebrate the festival.
In the main trading hub of the city, Fancy Bazar, where people in large numbers come out to celebrate the festival, the entire area wore a deserted look. Small traders were seen on streets with abir and gulal waiting to sell their stock.
A vendor from Fancy Bazaar said that the people are not interested to buy the Holi items because of Coronavirus. Some customers even enquired if the colours were made in China.
Another trader in Ganeshguri said, “75 percent of Holi items are yet to be sold and this has happened because of Coronavirus. Only a small section of people have come out to celebrate the festival. Let’s see if my items get sold tomorrow or I will have to incur heavy losses”.
People in private offices and organizations were witnessed enjoying the festival, but the scale was very low compared to other years. It was clearly evident that the fear of Coronovirus has taken a toll on the celebrations.
“This year me and my friends were planning to go to some kind of Rain dance festivals which is always organized during Holi but due to the fear of Coronovirus we have dropped the plan,” said a youth .
A customer in Beltola market said, “This time we are more careful while buying colours. We are buying local organic colours like Abir and Gulal over chemical colours. We want to enjoy the festival but Coronavirus have killed all the festive vibe”.
The Assam government has sounded a high alert across the state after a 76-year-old tourist from the US tested positive for Covid-19 in Bhutan. This American tourist had visited many parts of Assam before leaving for Bhutan.
Though another day has been added as a local holiday on March 10 to celebrate Holi in Kamrup Metro it would be interesting to see if people come out and celebrate the festival or not.
