Diwali just five days away, 10 cracker kiosks yet to open

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 21

The Festival of Lights is less than a week away and the temporary retail firecracker market will take two more days to be operational on October 23.

Only 10 kiosks, permitted to be set up in the New Amritsar area, are still under construction. There is a distance of 3 metres between each kiosk. There is 50-m open space around these kiosks.

Nobody will be allowed to park vehicles near the market. A separate parking lot will be allotted away from the market. A fire tender and an ambulance will be deployed there for 24 hours.

The allottees have applied for police verification and after its completion they would be issued temporary licences by the DCP’s office.

Each allottee will be allowed to store not more than 600 kg of sparklers and crackers. All of them would be required to ensure the availability of a water tank of 200 liters, four sand buckets and two fire extinguishers.

Sources said 50 per cent of vends had changed hands and the price of commodities would come out once the retail market became operational.

There are 32 licence holders in the city dealing in manufacturing, storage and possession of crackers in addition to two Union Government-licenced firecracker manufacturing units. Each of them is allowed to maintain nearly 1,500 kg of stock.