Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Buyers flock to Gadoli for old, overpriced, polluting crackers

MAD DASH Few takers for green crackers; people from Rajasthan, Delhi, UP rush before crackdown

- Rohit David & Leena Dhankhar htreporter­s@hindustant­imes.com

GURUGRAM: Despite a ban imposed by the Supreme Court (SC) last year, firecracke­rs are still available for sale in Gadoli, just 10km away from the city. Though fewer shops have stocked these polluting crackers this year, a couple of them which opened for business on Monday witnessed a rush of buyers from as far as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The police have said they would start cracking down on such sellers from Tuesday.

Rishabh Jain, a student who had come with his friends from Rajasthan to buy firecracke­rs, said, “My friends and I have come from Jaipur and we are not even looking at the price tag. Last year, there was a ban on firecracke­rs. This year, no one is selling them in my city. We came to know about this place through Whatsapp messages and drove five hours to be here.”

There were at least 30-40 other people looking to buy firecracke­rs there.

A shop running from a warehouse in Gadoli was selling the stock at almost triple the usual price. A 500-piece ladi (cracker garland) which would have been available in the market for ₹1000 is being sold for ₹3000; a box of fuljhadi (sparklers) that used to cost about ₹150 were being sold for ₹400, and the price of hunters was up from ₹200 to ₹500.

Sidharth Chaudhary, a Gurugram resident, said, “A pack of rockets, which would come for ₹1,000, is being sold for ₹5,000. But, we don’t mind paying. At least we are getting firecracke­rs. I am storing firecracke­rs for Diwali, as you never know when there will be a crackdown and this place will also shut down.”

The shopkeeper, who claimed to be a wholesale trader of firecracke­rs, also said that he wanted to sell off his stock that has remain unsold for the last two years before the administra­tion and the police start cracking down. “Firecracke­rs don’t come with any price tag printed, so we can write anything. Till last year, we had licence to sell firecracke­rs, but after the ban, we had to at least clear what we have in our stock,” the wholesaler who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, adding that there were at least 15-20 sellers in the area till last year. “On Monday, just two shops were open,” he said.

In 2018, the Supreme Court banned the sale of firecracke­rs across India. SC lawyer Haripriya Padmanabha­n and the mother of a petitioner who represente­d those seeking the ban on the sale of firecracke­rs said, “The same ban on firecracke­rs which was there last year, exists this year too. No shopkeeper is allowed to sell firecracke­rs that are not eco-friendly. Anyone, who does so, is going against the judiciary and the local administra­tion should take action.”

NO TAKERS FOR GREEN CRACKERS

Green crackers are available in Gadoli, but the stocks are small and buyers few. “The sale of green crackers is negligible; none of the customers are buying them. Everyone wants crackers with sound,” said the wholesaler.

ENFORCERS READY

Last year, the district administra­tion had rejected all applicatio­ns for temporary licences to sell crackers and imposed a ban on the sale of old stock in the wake of the Supreme Court’s order.

Gurugram deputy commission­er Amit Khatri said, “Action will be taken against violators under section 188 (disobedien­ce to order duly promulgate­d by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of six months, or a fine of ₹1,000 or both.”

On Monday, the Gurugram Police also issued directions to 40 station house officers to implement the Supreme Court’s order, allowing the sale and use of only green crackers between 8pm and 10pm on Diwali.

Police commission­er Muhammad Akil said they will arrest people bursting crackers beyond the allowed time limit and also those selling polluting crackers as no licences were issued this year. “The teams will conduct raids at suspected locations to check if anyone is selling crackers apart from green crackers. Also, we have no mechanism to check green crackers so we have roped in teams from the anti-pollution board,” he said.

RAIDS FROM TUESDAY Police teams are likely to conduct raids starting Tuesday in the outskirts of the city to ensure no wholesaler­s are selling or supplying crackers in the city. “We have deployed 1,500 personnel to patrol their areas. Our teams have also met the RWA and requested them to ensure that no one violates the rules and regulation­s in their respective areas,” Akil said. Dwarka expressway

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37 The green firecracke­r is a new concept which was started by CSIR to make firecracke­rs with less sound and emission. A green cracker has trace amount of chemicals that give it colour. A host of national laboratori­es have developed formulatio­ns that can reduce emissions by almost 40%. The buyers need to lookout for a green logo as well as a Quick Response coding system, which have been developed for differenti­ation of green crackers from convention­al crackers. Secto

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 ??  ?? Old, polluting firecracke­rs are still available for sale in Gadoli, just 10km away from the city. Though fewer shops have stocked these crackers this year, a couple of them opened for business on
Monday. ROHIT DAVID/HT PHOTOS
Old, polluting firecracke­rs are still available for sale in Gadoli, just 10km away from the city. Though fewer shops have stocked these crackers this year, a couple of them opened for business on Monday. ROHIT DAVID/HT PHOTOS

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