With Diwali, Chhath Puja and Gurpurb fuelling festive demand for firecrackers, traders at the temporary fireworks market set up in Raowali village on Pathankot Road are racing against time to maximise sales. The market has been permitted to operate only till the evening of November 8, leaving traders with just four days to dispose of their stocks.
The traders received their licences on November 4 and set up the market thereafter. They said the shortened selling period had left them with limited time to recover their investment in procuring firecrackers, arranging transportation and setting up stalls.
Vikas Bhandari, president of the Jalandhar Fireworks Association, stated, “We applied for licence on October 27 but the process took longer than expected after the village panchayat raised objections to setting up the market. The lucky draw for temporary licence which was initially scheduled for October 29 was hence postponed to November 2 where we finally received our licence on November 4. This has left us with only four days to sell firecrackers and cater to the festive demand."
“Before the High Court took suo motu cognisance of the sale and bursting of firecrackers during Diwali in 2017, we used to get around 30 days to operate the market. The selling period has become considerably shorter since then,” Bhandari added.
Another trader at the market noted, "It is the responsibility of the district administration to identify and provide suitable land for such a market. Traders invest a considerable amount in purchasing stocks, transportation and setting up stalls well in advance. When licences are issued late, the reduced selling period makes it difficult to recover the investment and increases the risk of unsold stocks,” the trader remarked.
The district administration allotted 20 licences through a draw of lots on November 2 under the Explosives Rules, 2008. The temporary market has been set up across approximately 5.5 acres.
As part of the safety arrangements, a distance of a minimum of 15 metres must be maintained between the stalls and the parking zone. The market must also adhere to the distance norms from the national highway, petrol pumps, factories and residential areas. Each stall is needed to have four fire extinguishers placed outside and a water tank inside to deal with any mishaps.
To regulate movement around the market, direct vehicular entry from the national highway has been prohibited. The organisers have been made responsible for managing traffic and making sure that the arrangements do not obstruct the highway.
Furthermore, two fire tenders with water carrying capacities of 12,000 litre and 5,000 litre, have also been deployed at the site as part of the fire safety arrangements.
