KOHIMA — Stall owners at the Handloom and
Handicrafts Pavilion in Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, are fuming over the
directive of the Industries and Commerce department to close down shutters by 7
pm, which has been put into place since December 4 evening.
“No sale” is the common refrain from these stall owners who
have come to pitch their products and wares at the ongoing Hornbill Festival.
Speaking to Eastern Mirror, the entrepreneurs located at
Handloom and Handicrafts Pavilion (earlier known as Bamboo Pavilion) said that
since they have to close their stalls by 7 pm, their businesses have been
hampered.
They disclosed that their sales have dipped more than 50%
after the directive, as a majority of their customers come during the night.
More than 100 entrepreneurs have set up stalls at the
pavilion.
A stall owner who sells local brew and wine shared that
people normally buy beverages during the night, but the “curfew” has cut down
her sales by 50%.
She maintained that during other years, there was no fixed
timing or curfew period as long as customers were around. “This is the first
time we are facing such an issue,” she added.
According to the stall owners, the authorities had
reportedly conveyed that the directive was issued as “a lot of immoral activities
are happening in and around Kisama,” and that they did not “want to further
aggravate the situation.”
But the stall owners contested the logic behind the
Industries and Commerce department’s stricture, arguing that except for their
pavilion, the other stalls and all the morungs were allowed to open way into
the night.
They cited that even if their pavilion is closed by 7 pm,
there are still people milling around in other stalls and morungs, and so only
their business is adversely affected.
It was reported that on Wednesday evening, after the 7 pm
deadline, the department even brought in the police to chase away the tourists
and customers.
The police personnel came inside and forcibly chased out the
customers and pulled down the shutters at the pavilion, an “unexpected move”
from the department, they said.
Two stall owners who sell handmade pickles also confided
that people usually visit their stalls in the evening to buy pickles for their
beverages, but since they are asked to close so early, their businesses too
have been hampered.
Another stall owner who sells traditional attires also said
that during the day, people usually come for sightseeing, and the buyers mostly
come in the evening. So when they are asked to close their stall early, they
are unable to sell their products, the stall owner reasoned.
It was informed that stall owners of the pavilion also wrote
a letter to the director of Industries and Commerce asking for an extension of
the pavilion’s timing till the completion of night concerts, but their request
was reportedly turned down by the department.
Meanwhile, the Director of Industries and Commerce, P
Tokugha Sema, informed that the stalls in the pavilion were actually supposed
to open only till 5 pm, but they extended it to 7 pm.
