As leaders and commoners alike are buying out the gear in bulk, stocks meant for Diwali are all sold out
As the country is getting ready for ‘Clean India’ campaign on Thursday as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, broom dealers are having a tough time in Ranchi to meet the demand for broom from political and social activists as well as Government staff and the common people. According to an estimate, the city itself will require over one lakh brooms for carrying out the cleanliness drive during the week.
“As we have adequate supply of brooms for this Diwali, we are pushing all of our supply to them,” said a broom wholesaler, Chandan Chaudhary, based in Uppar Bazar area. Several people are coming to us with bulk demand of bamboo brooms to participate in the Clean India Campaign of Modi, he added.
Chaudhary, however, was concerned that the increased demand may create a shortage of brooms during this Dipawali.
Otherwise also, people are making bulk purchase of both ready-made ones as well as raw materials for brooms. “People are definitely coming to us with a bulk demand of 25-30 brooms, but the demand as such, has not created any remarkable impact on the business as we already had made stocks for Diwali,” said another broom dealer Raju. He said that the demand for raw materials for making broom is coming from people want to make it themselves.
Even if the stocks get finished there will be adequate time till Diwali to manage the supply, he said.
According to sources in the district administration, over one lakh brooms are required for carrying out the campaign in the city. Although, no official tender has been floated in this regard by the district administration, the concerned officials have been directed to purchase it from the market on the old prescribed rates.
“As of now, we have decided to give 25-30 brooms for each of the wards in Ranchi which may be increased in case demand for more brooms are received by ward councilors,” said Chief PRO of RMC RK Kumar.
Political and social activists, on the other hand, are making their own arrangements and have already purchased brooms in advance to make Modi’s Clean India campaign a success.
“We have been doing it for the last one week and have purchased 200 brooms day before yesterday so that we can take part actively in the cleanliness drive on Thursday,” said a local leader, US Ojha.
Prominent personalities like Governor Dr Syed Ahmed, Chief Minister Hemant Soren alongwith his Cabinet colleagues and top bureaucrats will take part in the campaign on Thursday. The campaign will be carried out in almost all the public places like schools, colleges, offices and every nook and corner of the city, for which a large supply of brooms has been arranged.