Cracker traders urge Delhi govt to clarify policy over ban

New Delhi, Nov 10 : The cracker traders have urged the Delhi government to clarify its position over the nationwide ban on sale and use of crackers during Diwali.
The decision to ban sale and use of crackers was taken in a meeting chaired by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. With the ban, the cracker traders are likely to suffer huge loss, thus impacting their livelihood.
Kejriwal has even made an appeal to people of Deli not to burn any crackers during Diwali in the wake of increasing pollution levels and rapid rise in the coronavirus cases.
Deepak, a cracker trader from Trilokpuri, told IANS, “I have a permanent licence and this time I had purchased green crackers of worth Rs 3 lakh. Now, we can sell them onl after November 30. As per the Explosive Rules, 2008, the government should take a final decision on either abolishing it or let it remain unchanged. Every year, just a few days before Diwali, a decision is made against bursting crackers due to which we suffer huge financial losses.” Delhi Fireworks Traders Association (DFTA) member Rajeev Jain said, “The trial over banning firecrackers has been on for the last five years. While green crackers were promoted so as to curb pollution due to bursting of crackers but there is not clear definition of green crackers. Last year, sale and use of crackers such as ‘anar’ (fountain crackers) and ‘phuljhadi’ (sparklers) was allowed by the Supreme Court which helped us in mitigating some loss.” He said, “The decision of the government just ahead of Diwali has aggravated the problems for the whole fireworks industry. The state government should have informed us in 2019 itself that crackers won’t be allowed so neither crackers would have been manufactured nor traders would have purchased them?”