Agra's Petha Industry Hit By Lockdown

The Agra district in Uttar Pradesh has been most severely impacted by the coronavirus. This district is in the Red Zone and due to the continuing lockdown, the area’s famous petha (a translucent, soft candy made from ash gourd) industry has floundered.

According to petha traders, there has been a loss of Rs 10 crore so far and more than 5 lakh people have been affected.

Farmers, small and medium business owners, transporters and lakhs of labourers are getting by somehow.

Mushtaq, who belongs to UP’s Bareilly, has been cultivating raw petha for the last 25 years but this time, his crop was destroyed.

He said that raw petha was ready to be harvested in the fields but due to the lockdown, it could not be taken to the wholesale market. The capital invested in farming has now gone under, Mushtaq added.

Coal is not used anymore to make petha in Agra but other fuels, including gas, prove to be very expensive.

According to traders, the petha industry was heavily-impacted when coal stopped being used in its production.

In Agra, petha had its beginnings in the royal kitchens of Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan.

This tradition, which began such a long time ago, has now acquired the form of industry but the lockdown has nearly decimated it.

Even the government has not taken note of petha traders yet.