Twitter
Advertisement

Beacon ban: Lights out for retailers

Some retailers feel that the loss of red beacons has not only hurt business but it has not impacted VIP culture at all.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The banning of red beacons and putting an end to VIP culture is a boon for many. However it has had a downside for the people who make and sell these red beacons and emergency lights to various agencies. Many of them today are suffering because of lack of business.

Jeetesh, a wholesale dealer, at the Guru Nanak market in Old Delhi is one of those affected. "For us it (the red beacon business) ended the day the move was announced. We used to make around 2000-3000 beacons a month but now we can't do anything. When the Prime Minister has given it up, what can we say? That business which was also a source of livelihood for us has ended now," he said.

Some retailers feel that the loss of red beacons has not only hurt business but it has not impacted VIP culture at all. Mahendra Malik is one of them. A retailer from South Delhi, Malik, who has been supplying beacons and emergency lights to various agencies since 1997, says. "The beacon removal has not ended the VIP culture. The major problem is the traffic issue; the roads are cordoned off before their arrival. This is actually the VIP culture which hampers the common man."

Malik states that he has been supplying red beacons and emergency lights to officers in the Central Government, Delhi Police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Sima Bal (SSB), Municipal Corporation of Delhi and New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) among others since 1997.

On an average he sold around 100 emergency lights a month amounting to around Rs 20,000. Malik also revealed that the new detachable flasher lights are slightly bigger in size with a magnet but are not available in the market currently.

And some retailers say that VIP culture continues, albeit on a lower scale. A retailer who did not wish to be named stated though the culture of red beacon has been banned some officers still come to them when they are travelling on outstation visits and ask for them.

In April last week the Central Government had put an end to the use of beacon lights on vehicles which were earlier seen as a privilege. The move came in order to end the system of VIP culture in the country and also change the mindset of the citizens of the country.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement