Ghaziabad potters expecting low sale this Diwali amid COVID-19 pandemic

Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 24 : The potters in Ghaziabad are preparing earthen lamps (diyas) for Diwali but with a little hope of sale amid the pandemic.
"I've been making earthen lamps for 60 years, however, demand is very low this year. The orders we've received is half as compared to the previous years," a potter said.
Potters have complained of minimal sale, business loss and meagre profit margin during the Diwali festivities. The COVID-19 protocols have restricted the scope of celebrating Diwali like previous years in order to curb down public gathering and maintain social distancing to keep new cases of infections at bay.
"We're investing our own money for making products for sale during Diwali. These earthen lamps would usually be sold days ahead of the festival but this time the sale looks difficult. Everything is in God's hand," another potter said.
"The municipal corporation officials visit to keep a check on us whether we are following COVID-19 protocols while preparing these lamps. Sometimes people in the locality complain about the area of becoming a hot spot. People are also scared to visit markets to avoid any infection so that's why we're not hoping for a bumper sale like previous years during Diwali," another potter told ANI.
Keeping the upcoming festival season in mind, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had advised people to follow COVID-19 guidelines strictly during the phase, failing which the pandemic could once again raise its head and pose increased threats to the society.