Assam's 'Pitha' & 'Laru' Industry Stands to Incur Massive Losses as Bihu Coincides with Lockdown

Guwahati, April 14, 2020:

As Assam celebrates the harvest festival of Bihu in the midst of the nationwide lockdown, no one has felt the impact harder than the small scale entrepreneurs who are dependent on the month-or-so span in which they can earn a few bucks and make a neat profit. Usually, this thriving industry sells pitha, laru, etc and fetches profits in the crores in the festive season. This month, though, they will not be so lucky. In fact, these entrepreneurs stand to incur massive losses in the midst of the lockdown that has driven 1.3 billion Indians indoors.

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Ajit Sarma, the founder of one of the biggest such enterprises, the Bhogali Jalpan, has said that this year, his enterprise will lose at least Rs 50 lakh due to the lockdown.

"From the 22nd of this month, we are closed for business. No new batch of pithas have been produced in the recent past. During the month of Bihu, we sell around Rs 50 lakh worth of pithas. However, this time there are no sales and there is no distribution", he said.

However, left over stocks will fetch the seller about Rs 4 lakh, which will come as a reprieve for one of Assam's biggest producers of the traditional items. "Thus, in all, you can say that we have incurred losses of Rs 45-46 lakh which is a huge downturn. But still, this is a big dent for the small-scale industry in the middle of the lockdown", Sarma discloses.

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This is a double whammy for the industry which also suffered in the wake of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. It is said that the unorganized sector involves the participation of as many as 25,000 workers and traders who are either directly involved in the trade.

However, this year, the crore rupees business has taken a massive hit because of dwindling demand as people are confronted with the problem of keeping their lives running in the midst of a crisis. Forget the enjoyment of Bihu and the consumption of pithas, the very livelihoods of the poorer sections is at stake.

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