Banned firecrackers up for sale, Punjab govt warns of stern action against offenders

Aman Sood

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Patiala, October 24

After a ban on the manufacturing, sale and burning of firecrackers was announced in Delhi this Diwali season, illegal crackers are being offered at heavy discounts to Punjab-based wholesalers.

As a result, illegal crackers, which are cheap as compared to green firecrackers and contain harmful chemicals, are up for sale in several parts of the state.

2-hr window to burst green crackers

• The government said only green firecrackers would be allowed for two hours on Diwali and on Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev
• “Necessary instructions will be issued soon. Only green crackers will be allowed for sale and use in Punjab,” said Environment Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer

According to the Supreme Court’s directions, crackers with reduced emission and green crackers (that stick to permissible noise emission) can be manufactured and sold. Thus, the Punjab Government announced a two-hour window to burst firecrackers during Diwali and Gurpurb in the last two years.

However, even before the District Magistrates issued licences this season, several traders had reportedly ordered the stock in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Patiala districts.

Last week, the Ludhiana police had recovered around 350 boxes of firecrackers illegally stored in a godown in a residential area on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla road. Another 1,000 kg of banned firecrackers were seized in Delhi on Tuesday.

Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that Delhi-based wholesalers were offering 30 per cent discount on banned crackers.

A trader on the condition of anonymity said, “If we buy green crackers worth Rs 60,000, they offer us traditional ones for Rs 20,000 on discounted rates. The margins are huge. We get a discount of over 50 per cent on the MRP.”

“In case of down payment, the discount touches 40 per cent over and above the existing discount,” said a dealer from Ludhiana.

“The discounts on banned items are even bigger. We have to clear our stocks, whatever it takes. The fact that the traditional crackers are cheap also attracts customers as everyone cannot afford green firecrackers,” said another dealer from Patiala.

Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla said all Deputy Commissioners and SSPs had been asked to ensure “zero tolerance” towards the sale of banned crackers.

“We will initiate a special drive after Dasehra. Anyone found selling or storing banned crackers will be booked,” said Shukla.