Gun trade continues to boom

MEERUT: When it comes to firearms, Meerut boasts a big bazaar. A walk down the town''s P L Sharma Road bears this out. For, the narrow lanes in the area are lined with shops selling guns of all shapes and sizes.
From pistols and revolvers to rifles, the market is loaded with the latest weaponry. And business has been booming since the pre-Independence days.
The security factor apart, carrying a gun has become something of a style statement in this part of UP.Firearms are generally brandished by people across the socio-economic spectrum including politicians, industrialists and even farmers. These days the residents prefer to wield small and sophisticated weapons.
But there''s more to Meerut''s guns than the local craze for them. The firearms travel to distant lands in the country, catering to several parts of India — from Uttaranchal to Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab.
People from all these regions pick up arms from the town, as easy availability and a wide variety make the proposition lucrative. With annual sales to the tune of Rs 12-13 crore, the market pays Rs 3-4 crore as trade tax to the state government.