Cracker sales down, dealers cite strict licensing protocols in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Amid strict enforcement of the ban on non-green firecrackers, firework trading which used to be rampant in the city earlier has now become a rare sight. 

While traders are opting for green firecrackers as per government guidelines, a few firework traders in the heart of the city have given up on the sale and distribution of firecrackers altogether. 

With a legacy of selling firecrackers for over a hundred years, Sree Jyoti Stores in Mamulpet, established in 1901, stopped selling firecrackers about two years ago when the government cancelled its licence. 

Jagadeesh Paranjyoti, son of Paranjyoti, who owned the store, told DH that following the cancellation of the fireworks trading licence, the shop was also shut. 

Firework trader and state convenor for the Federation of All India Fireworks Traders, J Madan Kumar, noted that several traders from Avenue Road and Sultanpete have avoided firecracker sales this year.

However, he said that shops on Magadi Road, Mahadevpura and KR Puram are selling NEERI-certified eco-friendly firecrackers. 

“Firecracker sales and storage are banned near schools, banks and petrol bunks,” he said. 

According to him, strict protocols in firework trade licensing, determined by various key departments, are the primary reason for avoidance of firecracker sale along with the fear of explosions similar to last year’s Attibele tragedy, which killed about 17 people. 

A majority of Bengaluru’s firecrackers, sparklers and assorted celebratory explosives are manufactured in Hosur and Sivakasi. 

A firework trader in Jogupalya said that there was about a 5% hike in the price but they were giving a discount based on the size of the box. 

On Monday, the government instructed the deputy commissioners and police commissioners across Karnataka to strictly enforce the ban by submitting reports on green firecrackers sales by Wednesday. Selling non-green firecrackers amounts to criminal offence, according to the circular.