Chandigarh cracker dealers’ body submits memorandum to deputy commissioner

Davinder Kumar Gupta, president of the association, maintained that the move would cause inconvenience to the residents and traders. While giving an example of incident of 2014 in which cracker market in Faridabad was gutted, Gupta said that the sale of crackers only on designated places increase the risk of accidents.

The association urged the deputy commissioner to revert the decision.

In 2014, too, the administration had earmarked three sites — Circus Ground in Sector 17, Exhibition Ground in Sector 34 and Circus Ground in Manimajra — but had to revert the decision after local MP Kirron Kher intervened.

For the past many years, traders have been selling crackers in densely populated sectors — 7, 15, 22, 23, 26, 24 — and villages — Burail, Kajheri, Maloya and Palsora. With little check, the traders violate guidelines pertaining to fire safety and encroachment.

The administration has extended ban on sale of Chinese crackers which are considered to be more polluting and unsafe. The ban was imposed last year for the first time. The city had witnessed a significant dip in the level of air pollution on Diwali last year, though the level exceeded the permissible limit.