Bihar: Jewellers not to sell ornaments to customers with their faces covered
Patna (PTI): In a bid to curb thefts, jewellers in Bihar have decided not to sell ornaments to customers entering shops with their faces covered, a traders' association said on Wednesday.
The state unit of the All India Jewellers and Goldsmith Federation (AIJGF) has asked its members not to display and sell jewellery items to those who visit the outlets wearing face masks.
Talking to reporters here, AIJGF Bihar unit president Ashok Kumar Verma said, "We have decided not to sell items to customers who enter with their faces covered. We will not display and sell jewellery items to women wearing 'hijab', or anyone with a face mask".
The decision was taken for "security reasons and for the safety of jewellers and customers", he said.
Several incidents have taken place in various parts of the country where masked robbers have looted jewellery shops.
"If customers enter jewellery shops with their faces covered, we can't identify them. The move will also help the police ascertain the identity of customers through CCTV footage in case of any theft," Verma said.
Masked criminals looted ornaments worth Rs 25 crore from an outlet in Bhojpur district in March last year, while a jewellery shop was robbed in Siwan in November.
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11k litres of milk poured into Narmada river after religious event; environmentalists see red
Sehore (PTI): Around 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river, often called the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, in Sehore district on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
The event concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a 'mahayagna' on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said.
The milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
"Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals," noted environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube said.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Renowned environmentalist Subhash Pandey said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
"It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide," Pandey pointed out.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
