Firecrackers worth Rs 25 cr go up in smoke in city

Firecrackers worth Rs 25 crore went up in smoke as cracker dealers maintained that till Monday night — on the occasion of Diwali — the sale of crackers touched nearly Rs 25 crore in the city. Though only “green crackers” were permitted by the authorities, on this Diwali too, Rs 25 crore literally went up in smoke in a single night.

Since the festival of lights is being celebrated for over two days this year, dealers expect another day of brisk business as the cracker market continued to witness heavy rush of customers since early this morning.

While many residents celebrated Diwali on Monday night, others plan to celebrate tonight. The two-day celebrations had certainly brought smiles to the faces of cracker dealers, who were anticipating a profitable season, and their expectations have been more than met.

President of the Ludhiana Cracker Dealers Association Pradeep Gupta told The Tribune that the business was as per expectations. “It has been a really good season for cracker dealers. We had anticipated strong sales and the response from buyers has been massive. Though we got only a few days to set up our stalls due to several issues, the business in these five to six days has been exceptional,” he said.

Around 40 stalls have been set up at Dana Mandi near the Jalandhar Bypass, where crackers are being sold at wholesale prices with permission from the police.

Another dealer, Manu Sharma, said as Diwali was being celebrated for over two days, residents bought crackers for both.

“Bursting crackers is considered shagun (good omen) by many. Keeping this in mind, plenty of buyers purchased the same for both days, as they planned to celebrate twice. It could also be the reason behind the higher sales,” he said.

Though the police had fixed the cracker-bursting window between 8 pm and 10 pm, the celebrations continued till midnight in many areas.

When asked if any FIRs had been registered against violators, Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma said the festival went smoothly and no case was registered. “If someone burst one or two crackers after the allowed time, we overlooked it as the festival holds great importance for all. In

most cases, it was children or adolescents bursting crackers,” he said.