7 days to Diwali, cracker sellers shut shop
UNCERTAINTY Some Old Delhi fireworks dealers voluntarily shut shop, police to cut down on number of temporary licences
NEW DELHI: As the confusion looms over the sale of ‘green crackers’ after the Supreme Court’s order, fireworks dealers in Old Delhi have decided to voluntarily shut their shops. Delhi Police have said that they will cut down the number of temporary licences to half this year.
Customers at Sadar Bazar, one of the wholesale hubs of fireworks, were disappointed on Wednesday, as the shops with the permanent 12-month licence remained shut. Besides, roadside vendors, who are given temporary licences to sell crackers, are yet to receive them from police.
“This is not a competitive market. Only a few dealers get the 12-month licence. We have decided to keep our shops shut,” said Praveen Kumar, a firecracker dealer in Sadar Bazaar.
The police said that the number of temporary licences to be issued to vendors ahead of Diwali would be halved this year. Nupur Prasad, deputy commissioner of police (North), said that the temporary licences would be issued to Sadar Bazar shopkeepers on Thursday. “They will be allowed to operate only if they have firecrackers that fulfil the criteria mentioned by the court,” said Prasad.
She said that Sadar Bazar has two firecracker shops with permanent licences, but they have decided to remain shut until there is more clarity on the kind of fireworks that can be sold. “The two shops did not have a stock of crackers permitted by Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO),” said the DCP.
Similar scenes were seen at Jama Masjid, where the firecrackers market that is usually abuzz with customers weeks before Diwali, wore a deserted look with only a few vendors selling festive decorations.
The policemen, who have been assigned the task of stopping the sale of polluting firecrackers, are also in a fix. They do not know “exactly what they are checking”.
“I don’t know what ‘green crackers’ are. I asked my seniors and they hadn’t seen these either. But we have been told that since it is still not out for sale, any sale of crackers are banned,” said a policeman at Sadar Bazar.
Police officials also said that they do not know how to stop the dealers who have permanent licenses from selling the conventional firecrackers. “We don’t know if the earlier licenses are deemed invalid,” a police constable stationed at Jama Masjid said.
Madhur Verma, Delhi Police spokesperson, said that the police are seeking a clarification from PESO on what kinds of crackers can be deemed less harmful and only those will be allowed for sale. “What is clear is that ‘ladis’ and high polluting crackers containing harmful metals won’t be allowed,” said Verma.
Traders said that the stock of crackers is bought at least a month in advance and Diwali is the time when the sale spikes. The lack of clarity on sale conditions will come as a huge loss for traders.
“We hope we can get the terms and conditions of sale in time. After Diwali the sale becomes limited,” said Muzammil Ibrar Khan, a dealer at Jama Masjid.
Verma said that the first step towards implementing the court order will be to reduce the number of temporary licenced shops to less than 450 from 968 last year. The police are also asking crackers sellers to put up labels of ‘green crackers’ and their licence copies up on display at their shops.