No cracker stall at Bassi Theatre site

Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 17

A day after temporary licences to sell crackers were issued through a draw, about 11-12 cracker sellers set up stalls late in the evening at the Dasehra Ground in Phase VIII. However, no stalls had been set up at the parking ground near Bassi Theatre in Phase II, the other site designated for sale of crackers. 

The administration had issued 14 licences against 132 applications received from cracker sellers.

The successful traders said they received their licences from the office of the Deputy Commissioner by the afternoon and started setting up stalls in the evening.

Rajinder Singh, a vendor, said the High Court’s decision on restricting licences and limiting the timings for bursting of firecrackers to only 3 hours on Diwali would mean losses for traders.

“I have only one day to clear my entire stock of firecrackers. The unsold inventory will cause a financial loss. The administration should have taken this decision 2-3 months in advance,” he said, adding that he had purchased crackers worth Rs 2 lakh. 

Darshan Singh, another licence holder, said some vendors, who were issued licence to set up stalls near Bassi Theatre, were also coming to the Dasehra Ground to sell their stock. 

26 authorised to sell in Fatehgarh Sahib

Fatehgarh Sahib: The district administration has issued only 26 temporary licences for sale of crackers. The administration had got 390 applications for licences and a draw was held for issuance of licences. For Sirhind Fatehgarh Sahib, nine applicants were selected while six were chosen for Mandi Gobindgarh, four each for Amloh and Bassi Pathana and three for Khamano. The cracker sellers will have to keep fire extinguishers and observe other fire safety measures. OC