Cracker sellers fear huge losses after HC order

Our Correspondent

Jagraon, October 14

The ruling by a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding sale of crackers on Friday has left cracker sellers of the area worried.

The cracker traders are fearing heavy financial losses because of the court ruling, according to which the bursting of crackers has only been allowed for three hours from 6.30 to 9.30 pm on Diwali.

In fact, many traders of Jagraon had stocked a huge quantity of crackers keeping in view the festival of Diwali.

The court has instructed the Deputy Commissioners and district police chiefs to ensure compliance of its orders. PCR vans shall be deployed to check the bursting of crackers beyond the time limit set by the court.

“We have already purchased a huge stock of fireworks but now, the court has set a limited time frame for bursting crackers which means there will be a considerable decline in the sale of crackers. In such a situation, we are bound to suffer losses,” said a Jagraon-based trader, requesting anonymity.

Most of the traders said the court should have passed this order some time earlier so that they could plan accordingly. “Now, we have to either return the remaining crackers to the manufacturers at lesser prices or we have to keep them in stock for a full year. If we keep the crackers stocked, a majority of them will get damaged. So, we are bound to suffer losses in both the cases,” the traders said.