Bhubaneswar: With the city police cracking down on two-wheelers with helmetless pillion riders, the Capital headgear traders have witnessed booming sales during the last one week.
As per the provisions of the amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, the driving licence of the biker found with helmetless pillion riders would be suspended for three months. Moreover, the violation of the rule will also invite a penalty of Rs 1,000 which would be imposed on the biker. The enforcement which came into effect January 1 has seen several people being fined in the city.
“With the new Act coming into force, our sales have doubled since beginning of the New Year. Our shops are being crowded by customers for the last week. Customers have been enquiring and buying all kinds of helmets. We offer all brands of headgears ranging from Rs 790 to Rs 60,000, but the women and kids’ model have been in great demand. We are expecting further increase in our sales,” said Chhabindra Kumar Sahoo, manager at Kinetic Banadurga World.
The new Act and its enforcement have come as a great saviour for the Covid-hit helmet business in the city. As Sahoo mentioned, the sales have improved significantly only for the first time since March last year. “Even after the lockdown was over, the vehicle movement and enforcement was weak. Thus, people were reluctant to invest on helmets,” he added.
Meanwhile, the act has also pushed sales of fake helmets in the city, with customers giving two hoots to the quality of headgears. The riders are buying headgears ranging between Rs 250 and Rs 300 without having any ISI hallmarks, only to hoodwink the authorities.
“I have brought two helmets – one for my 12-year-old son and another for my wife. Although I am aware of the need of wearing a quality helmet, I cannot afford to buy two helmets that are priced more than Rs 1,000. Besides, I had already bought two branded helmets earlier for myself that got stolen. So, now I’m going for a non-branded one,” said Sukanti Chand Behera, a resident of Patia here.